spring card + cleaning

thanks to everyone who visited yesterday during the PTI blog hop... i love reading all your sweet comments!

i love looking at everyone's perspectives, and blog hopping gives me lots of inspiration... if you participated and i didn't stop by your blog, i'd love for you to leave me a link in the comments section.

today is a beautiful day (again) in Washington after some rainy days, and i'm a huge fan of fun and bright colors... i thought it was a good day to share a spring-ish card with you.

i made this one while a friend of mine was over--she brought some lovely MME paper, and i used some ribbon from my stash as well as a few flowers (Prima, Making Memories, and BoBunny). no sentiment on this card... it can be an 'anything' card...

i've got a whole bunch of things to do this weekend, i only have one more week until my spring break for teaching... totally looking forward to it.

but before i start my break, there's a few things that i'll be doing--i'll be cleaning a little, vacuuming out my car, doing taxes (1st time by myself--yikes!), baking more bread and cookies (yummy), and i'll also be trying a pork tortilla recipe for the crock pot. also, i've been wanting potato salad and egg salad sandwiches (i think it's the advent of Easter that is provokin my desire for boiled egss... i love coloring eggs) so i'll probably make some of that too. i have almost all of my pictures/ posters hung up, but that's my last project of 'moving in' that i have. here's a picture of one of my wall frame groupings...


i'm also going to be hanging these tissue paper pom poms from the ceiling in a few of my rooms... it'll be awesome when i'm done. i'll share pictures, don't worry :D


hope your plans for the weekend are fun... and that you get to fit in some creating!

March PTI Blog Hop

i have a fun post for you today, because it's the 25th, and time for...


here's the challenge from Nichole this month...

This month we're calling all button lovers! Now's your chance to explore the world of possibilities that buttons hold! From borders to backgrounds, accents and embellishments, or even incorporating them into stamp images like any of our Button Bits stamp sets. From paper projects to home decor to jewelry and more, the sky's the limit! We want to see all your very best creations using buttons and the inspiration we will gain from each other should prove to be truly enticing!

now this challenge was actually a little harder for me than i thought it would be... not because i don't use buttons, but because i had to pick what to DO with them--limiting it all down to one or two projects. sheesh! there's so much you can do with buttons!

so, i present you with project #1:

i think this paper from Sassafras Lass is my new addiction... i LOVE the Nerdy Bird line! i think that the cute little clouds/ sunshine, and arts/ crafts images are sooo cute... and they're so cheery and fun--perfect for a baby boy gift, don't you think?

i have a friend who's expecting any day now, and i've already made a baby girl card in case she has a girl, but she kinda has a "feeling" about this kid--she thinks she'll have a boy. :) i don't have any experience with having babies, but i hear that womens intuition is fairly accurate... is that so? her family doesn't like to know the sex of the baby before it's born, so i'm in suspense waiting to find out! the blues on this paper were perfect for a boy gift, so i'm hoping i get to give it to her!

can you see the "congrats on your new little bundle" sentiment from Dawn's Signature Greetings set? ahh, so perfect for the front of the envelope


so here's a cute little bottle full of pom poms that i might give her--or i might just fill it with some sweets that she's been craving lately :D the bottle has a cute Sassafras sticker and a button topping the center. then right up next to the bottle and lid is a close-up picture of the buttons that i stamped in random colors and added some real buttons too :)


this is a shot of the back of the envelope--i added a 'baby' stamp from DeNami Design, and put a gem like a little asterisk on the side... it's the little details, right?


ahhh! here's one of my favorite parts! the 'smile' letters are from American Crafts, and i put a little button instead of the dot on the 'i' :D but do you see below that? the row of rainbow buttons? the AWESOME rainbow buttons from Studio Style? so so so fun! slightly time consuming, but TOTALLY WORTH IT! i used 14 different stamp inks for the row of buttons... the middle sized button with 4 holes seemed to be the perfect one to use for the border above the ribbon, and i can't wait to do this again!


it's almost too cute to give away, but i think i can handle it :D

project #2:

here i decided to make some of my own button background paper, and i did it using Dawn McVey's stamp set Studio Style. i just love these buttons, and the fact that you can stamp them in any color you want. i love shabby chic cards, and i decided to make one here. i used mostly pink ink and then some Tim Holtz distressing ink to give the paper a softer look.

i paired this PTI hop with an awesome sketch from DeNami Design that was created by my friend Paulina. i also made a card using this sketch earlier this week. you can see it here.


anyway, i used some Basic Grey Lemonade paper from a 6x6 pack, and some book print i had stamped and added a button to to make a cute little flower like the ones that Dawn has made.


i thought that since the ric-rac die came out from PTI this month too, it would work to use some here too (with lace of course). i added some gems, and my sentiment 'sweet friend' is stamped on the flower leaves, and it comes from DeNami Design as well. here's the close up of the focal point...

do you like it? :D

and project #3:

for this card i used some WeRMemory Keepers paper... it's got tons of glitter in all the right spots, as well as some distressing. :D i paired it up with Making Memories "just chillin'"paper (the orange and white w/ stars). then i used my Cricut to cut the oval shapes, which i rarely do, i usually use circles... and pulled some flowers out of my stash (Prima). the buttons in the flower centers are topped with gems, and there's a sweet flourish made of gems :D can never have too much bling, can you?


i decided to use the Big & Bold Wishes set for this card... such a great set for sentiments, and it really packs a punch on this card that is kind of busy. what do you think of all the bright colors? did you notice i grouped another set of buttons along the side, orange ones from DeNami Design (tutti frutti pack)


like i said before, i couldn't narrow it down to one project! which one did you like the best? i kinda liked all of them... :D thanks so much for stopping by--i'm so looking forward to seeing everything that you've created!

happy hopping!

DeNami Sketch Challenge #1

i think i know what you're thinking...

either it's--omgosh, why is she doing ANOTHER sketch challenge,

OR

it's--yay! so glad she's showing me something pretty :D

i'm hoping the latter is the case.

so--here's the deal. DeNami Design is having a lot of fun over at their newly remade blog, and they're really amping up the fun... they're hosting a challenge twice a month on the 5th and the 20th, and all you have to do is follow the guidelines--either use the colors, sketch, theme, etc.

AND here's the best part (for me at least)... my good friend Paulina is on the DT, and she *MADE* this sketch! how COOL is that? :D

anyway, awesome sketch Paulina... here's my creation.

i was definitely in a summery mood... i've got the 'yum yum' stamp in light green ink in the background along with the small polka dot stamp paired with the watermelon slice image... all from DeNami.
the sketch is really sweet and simple--perfect for a newbie, or really just anyone. no excuses not to play, right? :D *ha, like we need excuses to make cards, right?*

so yeah, i added the lace from my LSS, the BG watermelon chippie (from the lemonade line) along with some b/w SEI paper and some bling along the bottom of the watermelon rind.

so what do you think? gonna play along? if you don't then AT LEAST go and look over at Paulina's work, or the others from the blog :D

have fun this week... i'm definitely going to be busy. i have 3 polo games to coach this week, so i'm sure i'll be really tired all the time. i can't wait for a friend of mine to have her baby--can't wait to meet him or her! :D

well, have an awesome week, thanks for stopping by!

girly, you rock!

...that's what i think about 2sketches4you! those girlies ROCK :D seriously--have you checked out the cards over there lately?? o.m.gosh.

gorgeous!!

so Kazan had another sketch up HERE, and i thought it was time to play along again...


such a lovely sketch, dontcha think? plus, i have some new Nerdy Bird papers from Sassafras that have been calling my name :) they said: "Ginny! Oh, Ginny... Hey! Come and bring us out of the dark and put us on a card... PLEEEASE?" haha, not really, but you know.

here's what i made, what do you think?

don't you love that Teresa Collins cling stamp? it's a journaling stamp, but i thought that when it was paired with the sentiment from PTI, it looked fab. whatdya think?

the paper and cardstock sticker are from Sassafras, and the pom poms are from my LSS. ribbon is KI memories, and the clouds were cut using the "Going Places" cartridge with my Cricut.

one think i tried for the first time on this card was the graduated stamping w/ colors... i used a rainbow pad, and for my 1st time i'm pretty pleased! thanks for stopping by, and also for leaving your comments--they're so encouraging :D

go have fun browsing the other creations--they're fabulous!

can't get enough

i just can't seem to get enough of this stamp! i glittered up this for a focal image on THIS card the other day, and seriously would have been happy to keep on inking up the same pattern over and over, but i restrained myself :D i think you'll be happy to know that i currently only have one more card featuring this stamp, and it's not glittered. i like to switch things up, like i said :)

the teal card uses some older Cosmo Cricket paper and some vintage ink from Ranger... just inked the edges....

these two cards both feature the fern, but with totally different feels to them. i love the girly feel of this one below (MME paper i believe?, lace, and VOILA!), but i LOVE love LOVE the velvet trim from Webster's on this 1st teal card :D


this is an uber quick post--i've got another polo game to coach (we lost the first one... boo!) hopefully this one will be better :D

happy zomBee day

well, i know it's not really zombie day, in fact, it's St. Patrick's day... but, since i have this card to share with you, let's just pretend for a while that today has something to do with zombies. you may remember that i made a zombie card for my sister Cecelia to feature on her blog a while back... and that it was popular enough to make some bookmarks?

well, i have a friend who caught drift of this 'stamp altering' to make the images zombie-esque, and he asked for a set to give to his friends for his 'special' occasions (like birthdays).

and i'm happy to oblige :D especially when using DoodleFactory stamps from Starving Artists.

so here you can see my basic card--i've got some Cosmo Cricket yellow patterned paper along with some SEI and white buttons. i have the red ribbon tied through a slit i made behind the little zomBee (or zombie).

i think that the best pun in the world for this card would be for the inside to say one of the following:

happy (zom)Bday!

happy zombie day!

happy zomBEE day!

hehe... but that's just me being corny. you like? i love it when you tell me :D

thanks for stopping by, and have a LOVELY St. Patrick's day!

glitter + gooey tuesday

super quick card--i LOVE how it turned out though :D

i stamped the focal image (using an old foam stamp from my high school years) in VersaMark and then added some clear embossing powder. i then sprinkled a whole bunch of DeNami glitter in fuschia all over the image while it was still warm, and heat set the image again.

then it was just a matter of getting the layers for the border at the bottom and then stapling the velvet ribbon onto the card--super easy like i said!

don't you love it though? i think it's awesome.

oh, i was going to share something different (and gooey) with you: a recipe!

since i've moved out on my own, i've loved making and eating my own meals, really and truly. on sunday night i put together a recipe for my crock-pot: a beef stew. it was AMAZING. so gooey and hearty and it smelled... OMGOSH SOOO.SO.SO.GOOD. seriously. it may not be the most original recipe, but it seriously hit the spot after a long day :D

i baked some fresh bread (using the artisan recipe stolen from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) and paired the two together--ahh! perfection :D the weather here in Washington is still trying to make up its mind... we go between rainy and sunny about 2 times a day. this is the actual picture of the bread i've baked:

these two things were perfect (and i made enough to last a while!) anyway, i thought i'd leave you with a some links to the recipes :D you might be inspired to try them! let me know if you do...

thanks for visiting!

woohoo, it's today!

hi everyone! how are you doing? i think that my concussion has gotten much better. i will still be murdered by my co-teacher if i even *think* about getting in to play water polo in the next week or so... she said she's already having nightmares where we don't teach together. this is why we work so well together :D

anyway, the card i bring you today was made specifically with guys in mind... i think you can see why:

nice woodsy papers from Cosmo Cricket's "Mr. Campy" line along with some stamping using DoodleFactory stamps (i think this creature is called Yapples?) and some minor shading along some of the edges. i also used my edge distressing tool on the woodgrain paper, and my Cricut for the frame (just flipped the double sided paper over and used all the patterns).

this is simple but fun--i made 4 of these and have already given one away to a guy friend for his birthday. i told him the reason i gave him this card was because he was so similar to the image--no hair! haha :D

anyway, i hope you have a great day--i am coaching the first 'official' water polo game of the season for my high school team tomorrow... here's hoping we win :)

thanks for visiting--i love reading your comments!

diggin' doilies :)

i made this card for the doily challenge at Moxie Fab World.

i couldn't help but pile on some yummy goodness--Bazzill, Myay Road, and BoBunny flowers, Impress leaves, and some lovely striped ribbon.

this would be a perfect birthday card or thinking of you.

i haven't had a bunch of energy for card-making, mostly because i got a concussion on Sunday, and just made a visit to the ER on Wednesday to confirm it. finally i got my pain medicine, which has helped, but i really just feel like sleeping all the time. no, i wasn't in an accident, i just got hit in the side of my face with a water polo ball. it was bad.

thanks for stopping by!

'hi baby' denami color challenge #1

happy sunny saturday!

i'm so excited for the sunshine we're getting here in WA--it's absolutely GORGEOUS out when we have days like this. i can even see a little bit of Mt. Rainier when i look out my apartment window.

well, i'm making this a short post because i'm going to be crafting with a friend, Helene, today... i can't wait to share my new craft studio with a crafty friend!

the challenge comes from Nami of DeNami Design. it's a fabulous color challenge, and i'm loving seeing all the entries--you have a little more time, maybe you want to make something too? if not, then there's always next time.

anyway, i used my Cricut for the baby safety pin, and then a DeNami stamp, 'baby.' i love the color combo--it's so bright and fun!

thanks for looking :D and have a sunny day!