just because

i know, i know... two posts in one day... WOW! but i just had to share these cards... the first is a mini 3x3 card, and the 2nd is a fun "just because" card. i just love the cute little leather flower that comes as "ribbon" from Jo-Ann's on the mini card (used WeRMemoryKeepers paper, cardstock, and button from stash), and i've definitely fallen in love with the kraft cardstock--it's such an awesome neutral! (i used DoodleFactory envie stamp, Hiedi Grace sentiment, and me&my big ideas paper too.)

anyway, have fun scrapping and stamping, and keep leaving comments--i LoVE reading them :)

almost birthday time + kwerner's CI#50!

hip hip hooray! tomorrow's my birthday! i'm so excited (can you tell?!) to have a wonderful birthday with family and friends, and in preparation of some stamping coming up this weekend with Paulina, i've done a bit of it on this card using Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #50!

i've never used houndstooth paper, but i already love it--pretty classy stuff in my opinion. i'm not sure if this is my favorite card, but i liked working with the colors. maybe next time i'll use different proportions of each color.

anyway, i have two more polo games to coach, one of which is TONIGHT, so i'm gonna head out for that... i'll probably pop in tomorrow with something else. this is really quick, but i'll make it up later :)

thanks for looking!

i <3 velvet

i love my new velvet ribbon! it's so soft, and you really only need a knot and some hot glue to make any card special.

here's what i did with some colors i rarely put together/ use--goldenrod and red. i just don't pair them up if i have a choice--usually i'm a brighter color kinda girl... but i think these cards turned out pretty great, especially thanks to the velvet :)




i recently gave away some red velvet pants during a room cleaning purge. they were cool, but i'd only worn them a couple of times. i didn't feel too bad giving them up for adoption because they were a "sale buy" for me (aka real cheap). oh, and what prompted this purge? a prank some friends and i played on a mutual friend for her bday. we went to her house w/ her parents permission and saran wrapped her bunk beds, chair, drawers, and containers, streamered EVERYTHING, and put candy and pipe cleaners all over the place. we put up a cat poster (she hates them) and wrote in lipstick on her mirror. we also pipe cleanered all of her shoes together in a long strand. oh! we also cleaned in the process--it just felt like a logical step to take... hehe, we had fun. so all of us pranksters decided during the cleaning process that NONE of us were allowed to do this to each other... but i've received threats of "pay back" so i decided i had better do some cleaning before i became royally embarrassed in case i had some "visitors" on my bday coming up this week...

anyway, thanks for looking, and have a great week!

COUNTDOWN UNTIL BIRTHDAY (and therefore, a Cricut Expression!) = 3 days!

wow--can we say CANDY!?

i stumbled upon some really amazing blog candy via my friend, Paulina's blog. she posted a link to an amzing giveaway from Steph in the UK. you should totally go check it out--doesn't this look amazing?! i would DIE if i won this :)

2 sketches 4 you, laura's #24

here's a really quick post. i got to play with BOTH sketches over at 2sketches4you this week. the first sketch came from Ewonne, and you can find my interpretation HERE from a previous post.



anyway, one of my good friends, Tabi, has a birthday tomorrow, and i had this cute little chipboard cupcake that was begging to be used on a birthday card, so i pulled out some scraps (the pink border, and pink sentiment) and jewels, and Costco ribbon that i mentioned in a previous post.

i think it turned out pretty fab, and i even got to finish the INSIDE of the card too...


well, hope you've enjoyed looking! i'm so excited for next week, May 1st! it's my birthday, and i'm getting a Cricut Expression! :D

have a great day, and TFL!

P.S. Joey made me some ribbon helpers, i'll take some pictures later to show you. so sweet, right? if you don't know what i'm talking about, look at the "adore" card in previous post.

"adore" for 2s4u bonus!

yay! two sketches this week over at 2sketches4you, and i've already played with one!

this week's sketch comes from one of the designers, Ewonne, and it's great!


i started making this card with a white base (you can see it actually), but ended up mangling it with my bow-tying skills... in other words, i pulled too hard (really hard, actually) and my base ripped. sooo, i improvised and transferred the front of the card to a different base, and here we
go!



i think the blues and whites are so pretty--and the sketch worked perfectly with this chipboard piece from Colorbok from their "Sweet Life" line... too cute, right?

my brother Joey was watching me tie the bow (and pull too hard) and he promptly whipped out his cell phone to leave himself a note to make me some sheet metal strips to lay underneath my card base when i tie my bows. he's so sweet :)

in the midst of the tearing of the card base, Joey asked, "What is this card for?" I told him it was for a sketch challenge, and he said, "It doesn't have to be perfect... *long pause* you could give it to me." haha! he really is sweet--i told him i would have to fix it anyway (i have standards) and told him i thought it might be a little girly for him. his reply was, "It's blue. I would like getting it."


so, in short, Joey's great (such an encouragement), but this card will probably go to my mom for Mother's day, and i'll make something funkier and more colorful (hopefully more guy-ish) for Joey :)

hope you enjoy, thanks for looking and all your sweet comments!

an Easter card

i know this is late, but really, it's only a week off... i made this card REALLY quickly for my mom for Easter. when i got up for church and got to the table for breakfast, i found lovely cards from my brother and mom and dad, and remembered that i hadn't made any cards (or even thought to make one) for my mom or family members. sooo, i had already been thinking about using the "flower lollipop" technique to make a cute retro flower to stick on a card, and i thought Easter would be a perfect occasion. i just picked some papers and punched out circles using McGill, Paper Shapers, and Marvy punches. i crinkled the flower circles by wadding them up into little balls then unfolding them and smoothing them a bit. then i added the cute button and a bow to the top, used glue dots to stick it all together, and picked out some green ribbon for the stem. i also used the Fiskars "Threading Water" punch for the 'grass' because i thought it would work. the sentiment is from a $1 bin at Michaels that has some other cute stamps to go along with it. i used Stickles to add a touch of bling to the corner, and VOILA! i had an Easter card. all in all, i think it took 10-15 minutes... really quick :) hope you enjoy, and TFL!

2sketches4you, Kazan's #24

wow, i can't believe how many sketches Kazan and Laura have created over @ 2sketches4you! 24 seems like a long time... and i'm almost even more amazed that i've gotten to participate in so many of them :)

i really like the colors of the paper and this was the first time i'd successfully used the gathered ribbon technique... i think it turned out well, don't you? so excited to see what you think. it was a fabulous sketch, was it not?

today was not my favorite day ever... i reeeaaalllly wanted to sleep in instead of going to school, especially because i had to proctor the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) today for round 1 of a six round routine for the next week or so.

anyway, i got up and got to school, and ended up giving a lecture to my 1st period about having "filters" for their thoughts and their comments--some kids just don't get it. i told them, "don't let other people know EVERYTHING you're thinking... you WANT to sound mature, don't you?!"

anyway, it was fine, not the best, but at least it turned sunny later today. and last night i did have some fun with Joey and my parents... we watched the movie "Get Smart" which i'd seen in theaters when it came out, but it was SOOO much funnier with my whacky family enjoying every stupid corny line and slapstick routines... i love listening to my dad laugh... literally makes me want to smile.

oh, and in other fun news, my sister, Cecelia has started a blog! she's not exactly crafty, unless you count the fact that she's FABULOUS with words. currently she's working on her Masters and Ph.D. in History (specifically of Latin America), and i've had the privilege of tagging along with her on many trips to Latin countries (think Spain, Brazil!) basically, she's hilarious, and normal. you can check out her musings on her blog HERE.

anyway, i'm off to coach a couple of water polo games... praying we WIN tonight! thanks for looking and for all your sweet comments!

mini 3x3's and shooting!

so here's some random cards that i made during spring break a couple weeks ago. i was organizing my desk area (it's not big at ALL) and i pulled out my "scrap" drawer. i was a little disgusted with how many scraps i had and how many cards i could actually make with the remains from other things i'd created. soo, i decided to pull out the strips that were about the right size for 3x3's, and i pulled any papers (cardstock or patterned) that were in strips of 2" or smaller. i made about 33 of these suckers--not all the same color scheme, but all striped, and all diagonal with rounded bottom corners. just thought i'd share these tidbits...

anyway, i also made a set of 5 cards like this one--it's using the same damask stamp i had used in THIS POST before, and i just rotated the sentiment. it's not my favorite, but i still think it's cute.

gotta love the brown and blue though... really calming and classic too.

AND, in totally UNrelated news, my family and i had a COMPLETELY non-traditional Easter celebration minus church and candy. usually my family of 7 (of which i am 2nd oldest) does something similar to the following list on Easter:

*go to church

*open Easter baskets

*eat ham dinner, then candy

*do an Easter egg hunt

*watch a movie, or hang out

WELL... this year was quite different. my dad and brother joined a shooting range on Saturday, and Joey sent me a text message saying "guess what we're doing tomorrow?" with a picture of the badge he got at the orientation. i was a little skeptical because he's a jokester sometimes. anyway, come to find out when i get home, that we, as a family, really ARE going shooting on Easter. when it will probably be raining, and when NO ONE will probably be at the range.

so that's what we did. after church, ham lunch, and a double, wait, TRIPLE check that we had everything packed, we (mom, dad, Joey and me) headed out to the range about 45 minutes away. and we had a LOT of fun. i had already tried my mom's gun out (a .357 revolver), but hadn't tried Joey's .22 bolt-action rifle, or my dad's .22 semi-automatic pistol. but i did on Sunday :)


hence, you see the holes (and probably run away scared... or not so much, i'm not as good of a shot as my dad or Joey) and understand why my birthday wish list (yay May 1st!!!) includes a gun. i really will probably get myself one sometime this summer because i'm going to be taking a gun safety class from my pastor in July, and i want to try out as many guns as possible before buying one.

anyway, hope you have a great day, and had a great Easter! God bless :)

hey cupcake :)

i was so happy to finally get a chance to play with Laura's Sketch #23 at 2sketches4you last night. as usual, i changed some of the elements of the sketch and/ or moved them around, but i used the basic idea, and came up with a pretty cute card :)

did you like my natural lighting? i woke up this morning to take the picture, and i decided to pop outside and see what i could do... i put the card in the stand on the porch railing (thankfully there were no gusts of wind that knocked it over!) and took a few snapshots.

again, i'm using the red, black, and white combo--so crisp and elegant. i used VELVET ribbon on this, buttons from my stash, a Fiskars border punch, and stamps from Starving Artists (the cupcake) and Impress Rubber Stamps (the sentiment). i paper pieced the cupcake together with cardstock and patterrned paper from American Crafts, and i even popped out the icing like i did in a previous post, and i love the end result! today is one of my fellow teachers 30th birthday, and i gave her one of my cupcake cards, and she loved it. how can you resist such a cute image?

i just came home from a great time with my friend Paulina (check out her CUTE cards... she used buttons like me!)--we saw a movie and had burgers and fries (i had a milkshake) afterwards. so glad she's not sick anymore... it seems like we had a lot to catch up on! anyway, she was bugging me about posting a birthday wish list on my blog, and i'm caving to her *positive* peer pressure. (**mom, dad & nana--i KNOW you already have a present for me--don't get me anything else!**) i can't wait til May 1st!

Wish List (this is truly a wish list, items are in random order):

*the CD Freedom by Mandisa

*Creative Keepsakes magazine subscription

*spatula to use with my Cricut

*mat to use with my Cricut

*Netflix subscription (i blame this on YOU, Paulina!)

*Horatio Hornblower DVDs

*The Verbal Art Companion by Kathryn VanTil

*a gun (not sure what kind, but a pistol, probably semi-automatic)

*ornate flower stamp from Impress Rubber Stamps

*large tree branch stamp from Impress Rubber Stamps

*japanese flower stamp from Impress Rubber Stamps

*DCWV Citrus Stack (12x12)

*DoodleFactory Country stamp set (or just the house and Julius)

*DoodleFactory Creatures in the large size - Twinkz, Scoober and Yapples

*DoodleFactory Fairytale stamp set (or just Princess Winifred and the Grand Castle)

*a good set of markers (to color in stamped images)

*any of the DeNami Design chickies, but especially the one with a flower, sweet sayings, sweet treats, or happy birthday sentiment

*1 1/2" square McGill Small Fancy Square Punch

*concert tickets (to a concert i can GO to--check my schedule)

*any BasicGrey paper

*really, any gift card to Michael's, JoAnn's, or even like a Visa/ Mastercard $$ card to spend on craft supplies

...wow, this list makes me sound obnoxiously materialistic. BUT, nevertheless, it is on request from a friend, (and i bet Cece could use some ideas) and i always think it's fun to see what people are wishing or dreaming of... it can give you ideas or dreams yourself. PLUS--wish lists give insight into a person you may have "known well" until you read their wish list. i know that looking at some of my brothers' lists when they were young made me laugh. they included things like a tree fort, a hole to China (i think they just tried to dig one anyway), and they asked for Legos, etc...

anyway, there you go cupcake! hope you have a great day, and a Happy Easter! He is Risen!

simple stamping...

i just got back from a polo game tonight (actually two) where we won the JV game, and lost the Varsity game. so hard to see my team lose... especially when it's a team i KNOW we can beat, and i've done all i can as a coach to help them (minus getting in and playing for them). oh well. here's a card that i stamped shortly after i got the damask stamp last week--it was just calling to me, and i love the orangey-yellow colors here... and it's so SIMPLE!

it's funny because my mom said, "you don't even need a sentiment, it looks find plain!" i wasn't too sure whether or not to trust her, and all the cards i DID stamp have a sentiment on them... so what do i do? new sentiment? no sentiment? keep it? i'm so glad i have you as a bouncing board for opinions :)



and then this is a different card for me in terms of COLORS. i actually am not attracted to any of these colors... i wouldn't be surprised if these were the last colors in my stash (of cardstock, and or patterned paper) but i wanted to challenge myself to use something new, and also just to "get rid" of some of my stash that i haven't used. sooo, i coordinated (as best i could with colors i don't exactly love) and came up with this... and i actually like the design and my execution (see the bow?) but like i said--the colors are iffy. anyway, this would be a good general purpose card--no sentiment--and it's also kinda "guy-ish." maybe that's what i was thinking when i made it ;) the only thing i stamped was the damask in black again.

i used the same design in colors i LIKE, so i'll be sharing those cards with you shortly.
thanks so much for stopping by, hope you enjoy, and HAPPY EASTER! (i haven't even colored eggs... gotta get on that!)

"i love you" damask + thanks to 2s4y!

oh my word! was i in for a treat today!! i got up this morning to ANOTHER fabulous spring (well, more like SUMMER) day in Washington where it's currently 65+ degrees out :) then i went to church and had some awesome fellowship and learning time. then when i was there i got a text message from one of my friends, Paulina, telling me to check my email when i got home.

so i get home, and *OH MY WORD* i made the Fab 5 over at 2sketches4you! i just about squealed when i saw... so happy right now :) i LOVE playing with their sketches and getting fresh ideas, and i also love how there's such a community of encouragement. don't Laura's and Kazan's comments just warm your heart? that's half the reason i post cards... just so i can see what they like about them :) don't you love it too? so thank you Laura and Kazan... you really do brighten my day.

also, thanks to all of you that post comments on my blog--i am constantly encouraged by your kind words :) and a special shout-out to my sister, Cecelia, who ESPECIALLY got onto blogspot JUST so she could stalk me... *AHEM* comment/ converse with me regarding my cards. you = AWESOME!

but anyway, in another nod to my sister, i am posting this simple card... it's using the same damask stamp from the 2sketches4you post but this time in a subtler way. i love that you can barely tell that there's a stamp on the card, but it's still so classy. i used cardstock (white, pink, kraft) and patterned paper (pastel stripes, pink mini polka dots) plus punches (circle, scallops, corner rounder), and ribbon (SEI Winnie's Wonders). i LOVE the end result, don't you? and as Cecelia would say, "Sometimes simple is better."

thanks again, hope you have a great day!

oh happy day! it's SUNNY :)

**NEWS FLASH**

It is currently SUNNY in Washington!

i know you didn't think it was possible, but today when i woke up (fashionably late... last Saturday of spring break) i looked out the window to sun, birds chirping, and my dog Cookie sleeping in our backyard on a sunny patch of grass.

amazing how a little thing like sun can change your day. i thought this card (actually 4 of them, 2 types) would be perfect to post today... it's filled with fun colors--albeit in a surprising combination--and it's simple, so even better :)

the ribbon is SEI, the stamp is Heidi Grace, and the punches are Fiskars and Paper Shapers. now you probably want to know about the paper, but i can't remember at the moment... i'll look in my stash and tell you later. (i checked and it's K&Co "Happy Trails" from a Mat Pad)

anyway, i'm about to head out the door to walk my dog, get some fresh air, and then sit down to create some more cards. i'm listening to some awesome uplifting music right now, you might like it too: "My Deliverer" by Mandisa, "I'm Letting Go" by Francesca Battestelli, and "Shadowfeet" by Cadia. also, other exciting news... i'm going to Ecuador this summer for a missions trip with my church! i'll be helping out with VBA's (Vacation Bible Adventures... like VBS but it's our church's own curriculum, songs, activities, etc...) last summer i had the privilege of telling the Bible stories--seriously the most rewarding experience EVER! (and so much fun... i love geting in front of people and telling stories, jokes, giving speeches. i know that's quite opposite of a lot of people, but i guess i'm gifted like that.)

hope your day is as sunny as mine! thanks for looking :)

2sketches4you, Kazan's #23, "you light up my life..." + BIRTHDAY!

woohoo! i got to play with Kazan's sketch over at 2sketches4you. i LOVE looking at the incredible talent, getting ideas for my own cards, and of course, playing along! this time i decided to use some of my favorite colors (to wear and use) RED + BLACK. i love this card that resulted from Kazan's sketch. sooo elegant, don't you think? i love the gems, the ribbon (i tied it so well, if i say so myself!), and the flowers too :) ah, i just <3>

but don't stop looking, there's more...

i LOVED this stamp, and actually i love all stamps with chandeliers :) i bought this one at Impress Rubber Stamps on Monday when i went to stamp with my co-worker and friend, Helene, from school. we teach a blended 8th grade special education class together during 3rd period and i'm SUPER blessed to get along with her so well. she always makes me laugh, and she's laid back so we don't get too fussy about anything. just what i need :) i got some stickles (pink that you see here, orange, and pearl) and the sentiment "you light up my life" (so sweet, right?) there as well, and i have to say, i really like this card. i used some oversize rick-rack for the ribbon, and left the edges frayed... i think it's cool :) i know that not everything's perfect, but that's what makes it special.

okay, so here's another card (i made this one AGES ago, like my previous post). i used the same sentiment as the previous card too, but it's so versatile i figured re-use wasn't hurting anyone. this is, yet again, a card made with Costco ribbon. it's flocked damask (or is it velvet? either way...) and i used it to wrap presents this year... they turned out so well! i really like this card, and it's actually one i started at Paulina's house during our last stamp session :) some of the poppies on this card are shiny (lacquered is the word?) and unfortunately the paper is DOUBLE sided (agh, how am i to choose which side to use? it's my ever-present dilemma).

and, you may have noticed that i have a card stand. i got that on Monday too, and it's SO AWESOME. i saw it and was like, "okay, gotta have it. don't care if it costs $20, i'm getting it." fortunately it was only $2, and it's getting a lot of use. tons easier to take photos with this handy-dandy stand. how do YOU take pictures of your cards? do you use a stand?

again, this is a card i used the damask stamp on, plus DeNami Designs "Greetings" stamp. i love the fact that it goes with just about any combo. (have you noticed that i "love" a lot of things lately? it might be the fact that i'm still on SPRING BREAK and it's having a positive impact on me. sure hope so :)

oh, and you've probably noticed that my blog post title mentioned "birthday"... and i'm so excited to tell you why. this year i asked for a Cricut Expression (from multiple givers, mind you), and yesterday & today my mom and i went shopping, found the best price, and bought one! :) *BIG SMILE* now i just have to wait a month until May 1st when i can actually open it up and use it! :) we also went cartridge shopping (just looking, though) and i found a couple of cartridges i'll probably want, but i was wondering... what's your ABSOLUTE FAVORITE cartridge and why?
i'm interested to know what you say, because i really want to get the most use out of whatever i buy... you know, not just using part of it. oh, part of the shopping process was to go to Costco (that's where we bought it... $279.99--best price around) and i got some more ribbon :) haha, i know you're saying... she doesn't need any, but it was too cute. red with white polka dots (grosgrain), zebra stripe (satin), and light blue with white stitching on the edge (grosgrain). 50 yds each spool, $6.99 a spool... can we say YUM!?

do you buy ribbon in bulk, or do you just get the little packs? what's your favorite ribbon?

ahh, i know this has been a long post, but you can probably tell i'm excited. seriously can't wait until my birthday. usually i feel like people forget it because it's the first of the month, and people aren't thinking ahead (i am NOT complaining, just my observations), but this year i'm so stoked :)

thanks so much for looking, and have a great day... i love reading your comments, and i'd LOVE to hear your answers to my plethora of questions! XOXO, take care!