If I Had More Time and More Creativity...

I would give these challenges are whirl.


Unfortunately, I'm not feeling all that creative
and there are other pending matters
that demand my attention.

I can dream, right? ;-)

Hence, my Challenge Dream List...


Embellish Embossing Color Challenge - The colors for this challenge would definitely be too challenging for me right now... I'm totally not feeling loud and bright at the moment. However, if I was in the right mood, I can see this challenge being a ton of fun, so this one goes on my challenge dream list.



Shabby Tea Room "Comforts of Home" Challenge - So I'm not sure if I would be able to show what my comforts of home are in a card or other papercraft project (and honestly, my brain doesn't even want to think about how I would go about doing that), but I love the inspiration photo for this challenge and the shabby, victorian style. I would love to make something with those elements incorporated into it.

Mojo Monday Sketch 136 - Even as uncreative as I'm feeling, this sketch has the potential to propel me toward making something! I love that there are two options... a square or a circle. I would probably go for the circle, just because I haven't made a circle card in almost forever and in addition, I would love to try making one with our scallop circle die for the Big Shot. So many things to try...


Technostamper Sketch Challenge #119 - I love how different this sketch is. It's mighty tempting... I am in the process of designing some thank you cards... hmmm... ;-)

Do you have any creative dream lists?

Baby Album Cover

From Adriel:

My mom did a beautiful job on the cover of this album, don't you think?

Our baby scrap-together in preparation for Allison's arrival is this weekend and we are spending this week putting the finishing touches on getting ready! We have pages ready for assembly, with pictures of what each finished page should look like. We've never done anything like this before, so we're curious to see how it all will go together! Here's a couple more pictures of pages for the album:

The pages are going into the before-mentioned album that my mom did the cover for. I think it turned out beautifully and I love how she did Allison's name. Very cute!

Looking forward to seeing some of you there and will miss those of you who are not able to make it.

Hope you're all enjoying your week and having a wonderful day!

Graduation Card

From Heidi...I love all the fun blogs Adriel has been posting. The Color Challenge treasury has some cute stuff on it. It's amazing how many creative people there are out there.

I'm going to be needing some graduation cards this coming month...so one of our stamping friends, Janann, got me going on this card. She wanted to make a graduation card for her granddaughter and wondered if we could come up with something fun. So this is what I came up with...and I'm planning on using this layout and the stamp set "Starring You" for the rest of my graduation cards. I will change the DSP'ers and CS colors. I got the idea for the tassle from a custom graduation card we made last year, which needed a tassle. Thanks for looking!CS: Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White
DSP: Sweet Pea

Stampset: Starring You
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Embroidery floss(for tassle), buttons

Happy Weekend! Color and Card Sketch Challenges

From Adriel:

What a nice Saturday this has been so far! My husband took our children fishing today and the quiet I have been able to enjoy today has been a treat! I got to eat breakfast with my parents and brother all by myself... it's been very relaxing. =)

To top off the wonderful day, my husband and I are going out on a date tonight! I'm getting pretty spoiled today! =)

I made this card yesterday for an upcoming class (although I will make some changes to it for the class). I used the ColourQ Challenge #29 and the Diva Coffee Break Design Sketch Challenge #173.

The colors were not my favorite to create with, but I needed a springboard. They were definitely a "challenge" and when you combine it along with a sketch challenge, also... it's just a little more challenging. The sketch was great and easy to work with, but I'm not sure it was the best sketch for working with these colors. Hmmm... anyway, it gave me something to do. My creativity needs a jumpstart and I'm hoping it gets going soon! =)

For the ice cream bowl, I ran a piece of Whisper White CS through the Big Shot w/ the Perfect Polka Dots textured impressions die and sponged the embossed cardstock w/ YoYo Yellow ink. Then I punched it out with the large oval punch, cut off the top and used the top as the base for the bowl. =)

The ice cream is from the new stamp set, Sweet Scoops, coming out in the new Summer Mini catalog, which you can order from starting May 1st. It's super cute! I inked the ice cream image first w/ VersaMark, then with Tangering Tango ink. I stamped it and then sprinkled w/ a clear embossing powder/Dazzling Diamonds glitter mixture, embossed with the heat tool and cut out. The scoops are attached w/ dimensionals.

The background is just 1-3/4" punched squares (embossed with the same Perfect Polka Dot impressions die) with punched scallop squares. Lots of bright colors on this card!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Friday's Fresh Finds: Color Challenge Treasury

It's Friday! This week seemed especially long... Wednesday felt like Friday. Anyone else have that kind of week?

Kirsten Bailey, one of our faithful color challenge participants, used this month's THS Color Challenge #3 to make her own treasury from Etsy with picks using the colors from the challenge. I thought that was such a fun way to use the challenge and with Etsy opening up Treasury East which has unlimited treasuries and no more waiting for openings, I thought this week was a great week to try it out and use those colors to put together a treasury based on this month's color challenge. I hope you enjoy it! =)



Don't forget to play along with us in this month's THS Color Challenge #3. The colors are so yummy! =)

This & That Thursday: Scrapbook Layouts

Here's a few pictures of some of the layouts we have been working on for the scrap-together coming up soon! The pages are not assembled yet. We just took pictures for an overall picture to help all of the wonderful ladies coming to assemble them. The pictures should help with putting the pages together quickly and also alleviate any concerns from those who think they don't know how to scrapbook.

So, those of you coming get a sneak peek!

And for those of you not able to make it,

hopefully it makes it seem like you're a part of it still. =)

We've got some yummy food planned, too! =)

I'm planning on making my Sour Cream Lemon pie...

it's so yummy and I rarely make it,

so it's a treat for me too! =)

It's getting closer and I'm looking forward to it! =)

Thanks for stopping by!
Enjoy your day!

Wowzer! Wednesday: Beautiful Card

Today we're featuring another stamper and card maker's lovely work!

This card by Jenn D. is just beautiful! It just pops with those colors and the layout! It's a wowzer! Beautiful! =) You can check out Jenn's blog by clicking on the picture below for all the details about this gorgeous card. While you're there, leave her a comment! =)


Hope you're all having a great week. We had a busy day yesterday with two SAT classes... those went great and the cards turned out beautifully! We'll be repeating this class two times tomorrow also. There's still room if you're interested in coming!

Have a wonderful day!

Newsy Tuesday: SAT class & Altered Memo Board

We have been busy mainly with getting everything prepped for the SAT classes today and Thursday, as well as designing for upcoming classes. We're also putting the last details together for our Preparation Scrap-together for Allison next month. It should be a lot of fun! =)

Anyway, today's Stamp-a-Theme cards are girly-themed. We'll be making 3 cards. I only have pictures of two of the cards... the other card we're doing is a dress card my mom designed that is super cute! =)

We'll be doing an altered memo board class at Tumbleweed in May. We're actually making 2 different designs. This is one of the designs. I just have to tell you that the other design my mom did is just GORGEOUS! Can't wait to get some pictures taken to show you... it's awesome! =)

We had a great time last week making our shabby flower brooches and boxes. There are so many things you can do with the Big Shot! =)

Don't forget that the THS Color Challenge #3 is still open until the end of this month. You can click HERE or on the picture below to get all the details!

Sweet & Simple Monday: 3x3 Kraft Note Cards

These cards feature some DSP and colors that are no longer current, but you can easily take the dimensions and the idea and swap out the retired DSP and colors for current DSP and colors for the same simple and charming effect. Kraft (which will be renamed "Crumb Cake" in the new Stampin' Up! catalog coming out July 1st) is so versatile and will go with almost anything. I used this DSP paper because we had some sitting around. Use whatever you've got! =)

1. Fold a 3" x 6" piece of Kraft CS in half to form a 3" x 3" note card. Round bottom corners w/ corner rounder.

2. Attach a 1/2" x 3" strip of DSP toward bottom of card front with SNAIL, approximately 1/4" from bottom edge. Attach a 1-1/4" x 3" strip of DSP directly above first DSP strip with SNAIL.

3. Stamp floral image from Priceless stamp set with coordinating inks, depending on DSP you use. Punch out stamped image with 1-1/4" circle punch.

4. Punch a 1-3/8" circle out of a piece of cardstock in a coordinating color. Punch a 1-1/2" circle out of a piece of cardstock in a different coordinating color. Layer these circles with SNAIL, attaching stamped circle in center.

5. Attach the layered circle piece to card front w/ dimensionals toward upper right-hand corner.

Sometimes a simple scrap or stamped image can give birth to a sweet and simple design. I love how these cards look and they're one of the simplest cards I've ever made!

Thanks for stopping by our blog today. We hope you enjoyed the sweet and simple project. Leave us a comment if you like or show us some of your own sweet and simple projects you've been working on.

Have a wonderful day! =)

You can order all your Stampin' Up! supplies from Heidi by clicking HERE!

Supplies: Kraft CS, Stampin' Up! DSP, Classic inks or Stampin' Write markers, Priceless stamp set, corner rounder, SNAIL adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Friday's Fresh Finds: Giveaways

Hi to all of you! Today's Fresh Finds are some great giveaways on some other craft blogs! I thought you might like to have a go at winning some of the wonderful finds being given away...

1. Poppy Place PDX is giving away Four 5x5 Rose prints... really lovely. All you have to do is follow their blog and leave a comment... easy peasy! =) Enter the giveaway HERE!

2. Maureen Cracknell Handmade is giving away a custom owl. Let me just say that she makes super cute owls that she involves her kids in... they help her choose fabric and colors and they also help name them. Cute, huh? Anyway, all the details about entering her giveaway are HERE, but it's basically follow and comment. Easy again!

3. Java Mama Cooker is giving away an altered recipe journal. Same requirements: follow and comment. Enter the giveaway HERE!

4. Crafty Dream is giving away a beautiful tree necklace from Earrings Nation. There are a few ways to enter the giveaway, so find out how to enter HERE!

5. That Girls Crafty is giving away a beautiful pair of earrings from Julie Ellyn Designs. They're gorgeous! There are a few ways to enter the giveaway, so find out how to enter HERE!

Hope you all have a great Friday! This week seemed really long and I'm glad Friday is finally here. The weekend is tomorrow! Yay! =)

My April Color Challenge Card

From Heidi...My Summer Mini Occasion pre-order came last week, so I had to play with some of the fun stuff we got. Our Color Challenge this month and the new stamp set "Sweet Stuff" was a great starting off place. This is an adorable stamp set and was a lot of fun to use. I used my crimper and scallop edge punch to make the card a little playful. The card reminds me of an ice-cream parlor.Stamp Set: Sweet Scoops and Starring You

Punches: Modern Label, Scallop Edge, Corner Rounder
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, Creamy Caramel, Night of Navy
Big Shot: Texturz plate
Crimper 1/8" ribbon.

This & That Thursday: One Year Ago

Let's take a walk down memory lane

and see what we were creating last year in April!

Bella Rose Card - I miss the Bella Rose DSP... this card makes me want a whole 'nother stack to play with. It was so delicate and lovely! I really like the layout of this card and it makes me think I should try it out again with a different color scheme and DSP for a new look.

Patchwork Top Note Card - We still haven't made one of these in our classes yet! That's terrible! This definitely needs to get put on the list, because this card has great results with minimal effort. We've gotta do this soon! =)

Victorian Fifth Avenue Card - My mom used the versatile and beautiful Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set to create this card. I called it the "Triple Decker Rose" (I thought I was being pretty clever). The rose is stamped three times and she cut out parts of it from two of the images and layered them to create that fun 3-layer effect. Another idea we should try again!

Happy Hi Card - I made this card for one of Kristina Werner's challenges. Boy, was this one fun to make and it's still one of my favorites, even a year later. I just love those flowers and the colors! The vase was made by punching a wide oval and then trimming off the top. Then the top is used for the bottom of the vase! =)

Sometimes old ideas can be great for new ideas!

Have you revisited your craft or art recently

from a year ago or more and found some old ideas

that you want to try again?

Tell us about it.

Wowzer! Wednesday: Embossing Folder Strips

I was "wowed" when I saw this tutorial on Dena Rekow's blog. She took embossing folders, cut them up and made strips out of them that you can send through with cardstock through your Big Shot. The result is that only part of your card has the pattern on it... it's awesome! Here's a couple cards she made so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about:

You can view her Wowzer! tutorial by clicking HERE and let her know how awesome it is! =)

Newsy Tuesday: Classes and New Organizers

Catch up on all the latest

Two Happy Stampers news!

We're doing a card class today at Tumbleweed Rec. Center. We'll be teaching the Criss Cross card technique and doing some stamping also. Here's a couple of the cards we'll be making today.

We have two fresh new cute and stylish coupon organizers in our shop! My mom and I are in love with the black and white one! The paper is Stampin' Up's Nouveau Chic DSP and it looks fabulous!

Our fun flower brooch project class is this Thursday! We've still got a few spots open, so if you're interested in joining us, you can contact us HERE. Sorry, I don't have a picture to share! =(

Our special Stamp-a-Theme card class featuring girly cards is next week! Here's one of the cards we'll be making.

Our monthly Color Challenge is still open and you can get all the details HERE. The colors are a lot of fun! =)

That's all the news for today! Be sure to check back in with us tomorrow for our Wowzer! Wednesday feature... you don't want to miss it! =)

Sweet & Simple Monday: Masculine Card

Today's Sweet & Simple tutorial is for a masculine birthday card. We all have those guys in our lives that need cards too, right? Sometimes just keeping the card simple and low-key without a bunch of fluff can be challenging. I like all that girly stuff! =)

Here's a card that is really simple, really easy and really sweet (even though it is for a guy)! Hope you enjoy! =)

1. Fold a piece of 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" Sahara Sand CS in half at 4-1/4". Use Sahara Sand ink and stamp image from Circle Circus in a random pattern several times on card front. Use Chocolate Chip ink pad and lay the ink pad directly on the card front edges. Do this several times in a random pattern all around edges.

2. Stamp a couple of the Circle Circus images in Taken w/ Teal and Chocolate Chip inks on Whisper White CS. Punch out these images with corresponding circle punches (varies with images).

3. Use Chocolate Chip and Taken w/ Teal Stampin' Write markers to ink up image from Birthday Bliss stamp set. Punch out with 1-1/2" circle punch.

4. Punch out:

- (1) 1" Taken w/ Teal CS circle (I punched mine out of an embossed piece of cardstock)

- (1) 1-3/8" Chocolate Chip circle

- (1) Taken w/ Teal Scallop Circle

5. Attach stamped and punched birthday sentiment to Taken w/ Teal scallop circle with SNAIL adhesive.

6. Use SNAIL adhesive to attach all the circles (except for the scalloped sentiment circle) to the front of the card in a random pattern, allowing some of the circles to go over the edge of the card. After attaching, trim edges of circles in line with the card front edges.

7. Attach the scallop sentiment circle to card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Supplies: Circle Circus stamp set, Birthday Bliss stamp set, Sahara Sand CS, Taken w/ Teal CS, Chocolate Chip CS, Whisper White CS, Chocolate Chip classic ink, Sahara Sand classic ink, Taken w/ Teal Stampin' Write marker, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker, Scallop Circle punch, 1-1/2" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, SNAIL adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! supplies can be ordered through Heidi by clicking HERE.

Here's another variation of this card... just a couple changes for a little different look. =)

Thanks for stopping by on this Monday! Hope you're getting a great start to your new week and we hope to see you back here again soon! Have a great day! =)

Take 2

From Adriel:

Remember my first take on a project I was working on?

(You can click the preceeding sentence if you missed it.)

I made another attempt and I'm happy to say that I am much more pleased with the results! This project will be for one of our upcoming local classes. You want to like what you're going to teach others to make. That won't be a problem this time... I like it and it's a winner! =)



I broke out the Lattice die for the Big Shot that's been sitting in it's packaging for a few weeks... talk about instant wow! It's beautiful and easy to create with! Can't wait until our ladies get to try it out... they're going to love it!



I used the Mojo Monday 133 card sketch for my card and it worked out great!


My card size is 3-1/4" x 4-7/8", so a bit smaller than the normal 4-1/4" x 5-1/2". The colors I used for this card are: Sahara Sand, Bordering Blue, Not Quite Navy, and Very Vanilla. I used the Very Vintage wheel on the background of the card and the center oval is stamped with images from the Vintage Vogue stamp set. The sentiment is from the Vintage Labels sale-a-bration set.

Hope your weekend is going good for you!

Happy Weekend!

From Adriel:

The weekend is here again! And my husband got the taxes done last night, which means he doesn't have to spend the weekend working on them, which means he gets to spend more time with me! =D <------- BIG smile It's definitely a HAPPY weekend! =)

I've got a card to share with you today that I made last week. I used a few challenges to help me get a head start on it... challenges can be helpful in that way.

For my thank you card I combined two challenges:

1. I used the Play Date Cafe Challenge #24, which was to use the beautiful color combo of Plum, Lavender, and Cream. I would love to play more with these colors... they're just so beautiful together! =)

2. I used the sketch from Just Add Ink #12. It was a simple layout and very easy to work with and be creative with. =)

Here's my card!

Some new Stampin' Up! goodies were recently delivered to us and one of them was this cute new set called "Sweet Scoops". It will be in the new Spring/Summer Occasions Mini catalog. It was perfect for the card theme I had in mind, which was "treat yourself" and included a gift card to Starbucks. ;-) This card was very easy to put together since the colors were already figured out for me and the layout... I wish it was that easy all the time! =)

Supplies: Pale Plum CS, Perfect Plum CS, Very Vanilla CS, Sweet Scoops stamp set, Sahara Sand classic ink, Pale Plum Stampin' Write marker, Perfect Plum Stampin' Write marker, Scallop edge punch, Large oval punch, Scallop oval punch, Sponge, Corner Rounder, Cream-colored satin ribbon.

Friday's Fresh Finds

We're doing something a little different this week! The past couple of weeks we've been showing off Fresh Finds from Etsy (and they have been wonderful!). This week, we'd like to share a link to a tutorial with you!

We recently finished some fun invitations to the "Preparation Scrap-together" that we are having in preparation for Allison's arrival. Here's a photo of the finished invites...

Our invitations are pocket cards. We didn't use any printed paper... we stamped our own! (That's the great thing about stamps... you can make your own coordinating background paper!) We thought you might like the link to a great tutorial that shows you how to make these simple, but different cards. We made a smaller size with different dimensions, but this tutorial is a great place to start and you can change it to your liking from there!

You can find the Pocket Card Tutorial HERE!

Our Etsy shop is also featured in a fun thank you card treasury on Etsy. Our little birdy thank you cards were featured! You can view the treasury by clicking HERE.

We hope you enjoyed Friday's Fresh Finds this week.

Come back soon!