you light up my life...

here's a sweet card... :D kraft paper, some Bazzil pink dotted cardstock, stitched ribbon, Cricut scalloped square, a little glitter bling (DeNami Design), and a couple stamps from Impress...

i love that little sentiment, "you light up my life," don't you? it's kind of an all occasion card, but almost 100% likely for a girl... don't know many guys who'd like this one--hehe! i don't normally stamp in brown, and you can tell the middle of the chandelier didn't get inked all the way. i've done better images since, but oh well. you win some, you lose some. :D

thanks for looking and leaving your lovely comments, they make me smile, or shall i say,

"You light up my life..."

whale of a tale!

check out this cute little whale punch from Martha Stewart! i think it just screams "baby" card to me... and i *have* made a baby card with it, but for these cards, i broke out some blue/ teal, and yellow paper... and here i have a semi-sophisticated look using this darling punch. the first card is super simple--layered shapes, small strip of patterned paper, and two buttons with orange stickles in the middle (they sank into the holes when they dried).

and for this card, the ribbon, flower, and tiny bit of bling add to that sophisticated look on this card, eh? i LOVE the loops on this ribbon... perfect detail. i also added a few touches of orange stickles to the patterned paper to add some interest around the flowers.

i think i'll be breakout out this punch again (along with the scoll-like curvy square punch from McGill)... they make a great team! thanks for checking this out, i'll keep you posted with more cards soon :D

(also, my apologies to my blog readers et. al. for not commenting on your awesome cards lately, i'm actually out of the country... in Ecuador, for a church missions trip. fun stuff! just means i can't look at and "oooh" and "ahhh" over your beautiful creations. i'll make up for it later, promise!)

sweet stuff (DeNami Style!)

here's a colored image from DeNami Designs... i've seriously fallen in love with their lovely stamps... just about every single stamp i see i want! agh! keep my wallet away :D hehe. well, i punched out the image with a McGill curvy punch, and then there's some DCWV Sweet Factory paper in the background... cutest cupcakes EVER!

super simple with the buttons, paper, and punched out image. no ribbon even! well, i'm keeping this post short, but thanks for looking :D

i've been in Ecuador for about 5 days now... i probably look somewhat haggard and don't smell as pretty as i do at home, but i'm sure i'll be having good times no matter what!

smile :D

here's a card i made a while back with my WildCard Cricut cartridge. it's got so many cute, fun, happy features, that i haven't even begun to make half of the cards i've thought of... this smile made me think of a good "feel better" kind of card--you know for those people who've had it rough lately, or just aren't feeling good... or just for bdays :D

there's some sweet sassafras paper (mini hearts... gotta love em) and of course a butoon and simple grosgrain ribbon. i inked up the sides, smile, and eyes on taht cutie smiley face so there'd be some more definition...

i'll definitely be breaking out this cut again... it's perfect! thanks for looking, and hope you're enjoying your summer :D

and for those of you who want to know about how Ecuador is treating me: it is SUPER! i love it. i have had a chance to teach at a conference already and am looking forward to sharing Bible stories with tons of little children next week :D

so very hip!

i've recently become obsessed with embossing. i say recently because i didn't have a heat gun or any powder until maybe three weeks ago. the reason why i didn't have one was because i was worried that it would take a long time to add to my cards, and that was a reasonable concern, because sometimes my cards take a long time to make... too long. but! with this card, i only used one stamp (awesome purchase from Impress!) and i embossed using clear powder (i stamped in red). embossing this totally adds to the look...

it's just "so very hip" hehe :D i bought the Retro-Mod stack of paper from DCWV, and it has these coolio sentiments all on one sheet! so i cut one out, layered it atop a Bazzil flower (HUGE one!) and put pom poms along the edge. kraft, white and red look great together, don't they?

loving this card, and the simplicity. embossing doesn't take forever like i thought... good thing too, cause i really *am* addicted.

movies, masking, and more!

yay, i got to participate in the 365 cards challenge blog again! it's been forever since i submitted a card! day 163's challenge was to try a technique; masking!

i've masked before, and i loved the results. this time i cut out two different trees from my Cricut Wild Card cartridge and stamped all over the negative space on the solid green area on my card. i used different ink colors, and placed them at different heights.

here's the cute little sentiment i made up using my mini alpha set and a "Birthday" part from another stamp. i added MM brads and some twine to the edge.

here you can see the trees layered, masked, and stamped, as well as the cute little owl. (i know Amy loves owls... hope she likes this one :D)

oooh, and tonight i'll be seeing this movie, G.I. Joe, for the second time tonight, with my good friend, Paulina. i've seen it, loved it, and know she will too! (it has Channing Tatum in it ;) hehe) despite many poor reviews i read before watching it on Saturday, i still liked the movie--it was action and adventure, and a lot of fun.

anyway, i really am going to pack now, so i've gotta go!

retro happy birthday + 2S4U Laura's #32

here i have a post the day before i leave for Ecuador--ah! (no, i haven't started packing, but that's what i'm doing IMMEDIATELY after this post :D) this week over at 2sketches4you, Laura had a really cute sketch, and since i haven't played in a while, i thought i'd submit my card before taking an almost 2 week absence (don't worry, i've scheduled posts for when i'm gone--promise!)

here's the sketch:

as always, i tend to change the sketch to "make it work" for me, so this card wasn't any different.

for this card base, i decided to use kraft. i LOVE kraft paper... it's so *neutral* and *versatile* :D with all the loud colors i used on this card, i think the neutral was needed...

well, this is the first time i've ever done faux stitching on a card... not too bad, eh? (well, at least if you don't look closely.) i actually really like the composition of this card... it's the colors i'm somewhat iffy about, but still, i like trying things at least once.

so here's a shot of the embossed sentiment attached with a cute little clothespin + ribbon. oh, and the bling & pinking sheared edge are great too, huh? i like 'em!

and here's my finished card! the red behind the stacked squares looks really orange in this picture, but IRL it's not... don'tcha love that ruffly ribbon? i got it in a random bag pack from Impress Rubber Stamps in their clearance bin. oh! and that purple scalloped square is a cut from one of my Cricut cartridges. somehow i end up using one or two elements from Cricut cuts to make my cards... which is good for me. i just know that some people make cards ENTIRELY from cuts they've made with their Cricut.

the coolio patterned paper comes from DCWV's Mod-Retro stack (or is it Retro-Mod stack? can't remember), and isn't it a great 70's flashback? not that i was alive to know... but! see that print behind the button? the words? that's part of a page i ripped out of a book.

it's a cool card. i like it. i'll have to find a special recipient. what do you think? nice or meh? thanks for commenting, i love reading 'em!