Viva La Verve!

I have a bit more Verve to share today! This past week I completed all the Viva La Verve challenges all with the 'twists' of course and I was eligible for the Viva La Verve Champion. Guess what?! I actually won, I am still in shock, my name was randomly selected and I will be getting an either release worth of stamps from Verve. Its been a few days and I swear I haven't come down from hearing that I won! So I would like to say thank you to Julee for having theses great challenges and prizes and thank you to Amber for posting some amazing sketches every week! Now on to the cards! Since I won for completing all 5 challenges, today I am posting all five cards together, hope you enjoy!

Surprisingly enough, each sketch I seemed to pull another color to use, what are the odds of that?! Honestly that never happens with me, I tend to get stuck in color families but not this time. My second card is my favorite sketch and favorite card from the grouping, although a lot of people seem to like the first card I posted above.I am a bit behind in my birthday card stash and the two cards above I plan to give out as birthday cards to friends and family. I can't wait to see the response I get from them, I have some people in mind for these cards too, I know they will love them!Both this Mother's Day card and the first card I made for one of the guys at work, I still have two more I need to complete for his cards. Can you believe that Mother's Day is almost here? Its already the beginning of May, I can't believe that its already that late in the year, where did half of 2009 go? Oh yea, I slept through about two months of it...oops!My last card I followed the sketch and made it a nice spring card, I love how I worked with the shades of these colors, I think it really works well. A little too simple maybe but fun all the same. Hope you enjoy all the cards I shared today, I really had a lot of fun creating cards for this challenge and thank you again to Julee for making the prize so amazing, I can't wait to see the next stamps to be released!

Card 1- Stamps: Because of You from Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Dark Chocolate,Ripe Avacado, PTI Green Tea Leaves Collection; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Accessories: white brad, pop dots, May Arts Ribbon
Card 2- Stamps: Because of You from Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Dark Chocolate,Ripe Avacado, PTI Green Tea Leaves Collection; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Accessories: white brad, pop dots, May Arts Ribbon
Card 3- Stamps: Because of You from Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart; Ink: Baja Breeze; Accessories: Pop Dots
Card 4- Stamps: Happy Mother's Day, Wishful Elegance from Verve; Paper: Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus, Whisper White; Ink: Raspberry Fizz; Accessories: Hibiscus Buttons, Pop Dots, Provo Crafts Scalloped Scissors, May Arts Ribbon, Prima Flowers
Card 5- Stamps: Because of You from Verve; Paper: Ocean Tides, Whisper White, Aqua Mist, PTI Bitty Dots; Ink: Ocean Tdes; Accessories: Tiny Twinklets, May Arts Ribbon, Large Scalloped and Regular Nestabilities, Pop Dots

Lady Liberty

Today is the beginning to a new week, which means it's time for me to share another Paper Pretties creation! I love kicking off each week with a new Paper Pretties card, today's card features one of the new stamp sets released this past Friday, May 1st. We released three new stamp set and re-released Rainy Day Friends in rubber! Today's stamp set is called Lady Liberty, and she is just darling. I recently received my Curved Rectangles Nestabilities and I can't seem to put these things down! I used them for one of the cards during the release party and now I can't seem to reach for anything else! I love how perfect these Nestabilities are for the stamps that were released over the weekend. I decided that I wanted to use the newest Paper Pretties Weekly Challenge for my card today. Each week in the Paper Pretties forum Danielle hosts a wonderful challenge, this week it is a sketch challenge! You know how I love sketch challenges too, so I just had to create something! Here is the fabulous sketch that Danielle created for us to try out!

Now you have to try this weeks challenge, you know you want to! So here are all the details:

How to Enter: Make your card using the provided sketch and any Paper Pretties stamp set(s). Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges category and use keyword PWC50.

Deadline: midnight on Wednesday, May 6th.

Prize: $5.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique. The winner will be randomly selected from among the qualifying entrants and announced after the contest has ended. I'm excited to see what you make with this sketch!

So try out this weeks challenge, we love to see our customers play along, and you never know, you may win, but you can't win unless you at least try! Hope you have a wonderful day. Enjoy!

Stamps: Lady Liberty from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Dark Chocolate, Chatter Box DP; Ink: E00 Skin White, E55 Light Caramel, G21 Lime Green, Y11 Pale Yellow, Y17 Golden Yellow; Accessories: Curved Rectangle Nestabilities, Quickie Glue Pen, Pop Dots, MFT Crystal Adornments

Unity Lovin'

This week Unity Stamps celebrated their one year anniversary! All week long there was give aways, contests, challenges and all sorts of chatter! Not only was the week a wonderful celebration, but it was also May 1st which brought about a new Unity monthly challenge. Each month Unity will be posting a challenge on the first of the month and everyone will have until the evening of the second to create a card for that challenge using that month's Kit of the Month. Sounds simple enough, but what would one win you ask? A Guest Designer spot for the following month! How neat is that! So when I saw the sketch posted on Friday I took the time yesterday to create a card following the sketch. I had so much fun with this card! I used all bright colors and some really great stamps from the Kit of the Month for April that I had yet to ink up! After I completed the card for this sketch I decided that I really love it and it will be the card I give to my Mom for Mother's Day later this week, I can't wait till she sees it! Hope you like today's card, tomorrow is more Pretties time!
Stamps: April Kit of the Month Fresh Beginnings from Unity; Paper: Whisper White, New Leaf, Hibiscus Burst, SU! Tea Party DP; Ink: New Leaf, Hibiscus Burst; Accessories: Aqua Painter, May Arts Linen Ribbon, PTI Vintage Buttons White, Pop Dots, Sponge, Sticky Strip

A New Stamp of the Month!

Did you stop by the Paper Pretties party last night?! We had a blast, and guess what? I was awake for the whole thing this time too, of course I took a nap before, but who counts that! Charmaine hosted three wonderful challenges, the first being to create a card for Christie, the Prettie Mama, since it was her birthday! I was thrilled that we got to celebrate the Birthday Girl's day with a release party! What a great way to spend your brithday! I decided to use the newest Stamp of the Month 'Giving Thanks' as my main image for Christie's card! Isn't this Sophia just adorable! Plus, she is prefect for paper piecing, my favorite past time, doesn't she look fab in a floral dress! You are going to love this new Stamp of the Month, just wait until you get a peak at all the other Pretties Girl's creations with this stamp, you are going to need her too! Hope everyone has a great day!
Stamps: Giving Thanks from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Lavendar Lace, Floral DP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, E00 Skin White, E31 Brick Beige, G14 Apple Green, RV34 Dark Pink, Y15 Cadmium Yellow; Accessories: Tiny Twinklets, Quickie Glue Pen, Large Scalloped and Regular Nestabilities, Pop Dots

Release Day and Paper Pretties Blog Hop!

Today is the release day at Paper Pretties plus it's Blog Hopping time! We are celebrating our new Illustrator and new line of stamps! Here is all the information, big news, BIG, BIG news! Here we go, come one, come all, read all about it!

We at Paper Pretties are SO EXCITED today!! Not only are we introducing a BRAND new set by none other than our own Prettie Girl, Danielle Lounds, but we are having an EXTRA SPECIAL party! Today is Christie's, the owner and operator of Paper Pretties, birthday!! Please join us at the party tonight to wish her a VERY happy birthday!! The festivities start at 8pm EST, so be there or be square!!

If you made your way here from Jodi's blog welcome, if not be sure to start the Blog Hop where it all began today, at Christie's blog! Plus while you are there be sure to wish her a very Happy Birthday! You next stop on the Hop is Frances' blog, and be sure to hop all the way through, there very well may be a wonderful prize at the end of the hop! Today's set is called Home Sweet Home and is the first set to be released from Danielle as part of her new line of stamps called Fat Cat Stamps! I just love the title, and it's prefect for Danielle's stamps too! Hope you enjoyed today's peak, but wait till you see the whole set, your going to love it! Have a great day all, I hope to see you at the party tonight it is going to be awesome!

Stamps: Home Sweet Home from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Chatter Box DP; Ink: B14 Light Blue, BG01 Aqua Blue, E31 Brick Beige, G07 Nile Green, N1 Neutral Grey No. 1, N3 Neutral Grey No. 3; Accessories: Tiny Twinklets, SU! Ticket Corner Punch, Pop Dots, Quickie Glue Pen, Large Regular and Scalloped Nestabilities

Pretties Peak Day Two!

That's right! It's time for another Pretties Peak and I know you are itching for more creations using our new stamps! Today I am sharing with you the super adorable, soon to be released, Lady Liberty! I absolutely adore this image, Sophia looks fabulous in this Liberty get up and she is perfect for any 4th of July celebration! Well that is what I set out to do, yes July is a far way off, but I thought it would be the perfect way to show case this new stamp, Lady Liberty! This one is two of the to be released Sophias (yesterday I shared a sneak peak of Canadian Sophia)! Here is all the Paper Pretties release information:

On Friday May 1st Paper Pretties will be hosting their monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party! The party starts at 6pm CDT and will last until 9pm. We will be issuing a challenge every hour so be sure to come and play along! Along with the challenges, chatter, and fun, we will also be releasing Hola Chica plus two new Sophias, re-releasing Rainy Day Friend in rubbah, and we will have a BRAND new set from a BRAND new artist!

It's Cutie Pie time once again! You have until Thursday, April 30th at 8pmCDT to get your entries uploaded to the Cutie Pie gallery at the Paper Pretties website. The winner will not only get to call themselves a Cutie Pie, but they will also receive all the new release stamps, and trust me you will be thrilled with your prizes! Good Luck to all of those that get the chance to play along!

I can't wait for the upcoming party and I want to see you there too! Be sure to clear a spot in your calendar for the Pretties Girl's! Have a great day all!

Stamps: Lady Liberty from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Pure Poppy, Pacific Point; Ink: B05 Process Blue, E00 Skin White, E53 Raw Silk, R29 Lipstick Red, Y11 Pale Yellow, Y17 Golden Yellow; Accessories: Large Regular and Scalloped Nestabilities, Pop Dots, SU! Large Oval, Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, May Arts Ribbon

A Pretties Peak!

Ladies, it's that time of the month when a new month is about to dawn and the Pretties Girl's start sharing with you creations featuring soon to be released stamps! I love this time of the month, don't you?! Today not only do I get to share with you a brand new stamp, but it's also a Paper Pretties Design Team Challenge day! Two weeks ago Danielle challenged the Pretties Girl's to create a card that is NOT a standard A2 card, so after a bit of deliberation I decided to create a flag shaped card. Now what would a flag have to do anything with Paper Pretties? Well one of the new stamps is called Canadian Sophia! That's right a Sophia who is all about celebrating Canada, so I created a card for Canada Day!

It took a little trial and error (I first attempted to create a maple leaf, which I am sure I will be attempting again, but not for today) I finally came up with a card that I liked. I used a solid red base and layered the card base with Bitty Dots red decorative paper from PTI. Then I decided to cut out the adorable new Sophia image so that she was actually on the flag, add a little ribbon and cute little bow and you have a fun Canada Day card! I can't wait to see what the other Pretties Girl's came up with using the soon to be released stamps, so head on over to their blogs and take a peak!

Charmaine Ikach

Christi Thorsen

Danielle Lounds

Frances Byrne

Jackie Pedro

Jana Weaver
Jessica Diedrich

Jessie Rone

Jodi Collins
Julie Masse

Here is the Pretties news in case you missed it:

On Friday May 1st Paper Pretties will be hosting their monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party! The party starts at 6pm CDT and will last until 9pm. We will be issuing a challenge every hour so be sure to come and play along! Along with the challenges, chatter, and fun, we will also be releasing Hola Chica plus two new Sophias, re-releasing Rainy Day Friend in rubbah, and we will have a BRAND new set from a BRAND new artist!

It's Cutie Pie time once again! You have until Thursday, April 30th at 8pmCDT to get your entries uploaded to the Cutie Pie gallery at the Paper Pretties website. The winner will not only get to call themselves a Cutie Pie, but they will also receive all the new release stamps, and trust me you will be thrilled with your prizes! Good Luck to all of those that get the chance to play along!

Edited to add:

This week it is also my turn to challenge the other Pretties Girl's, so here we go! I challenge you to create a card using shades of your favorite color! So pick your favorite color and use one shade darker and one shade lighter.

Hope you have a great day and you enjoy all the Pretties Peaks! Be sure to stop back here tomorrow, more new stamps to share will be on your way!

Stamps: Canadian Sophia from Paper Pretties; Paper: Pure Poppy, PTI Bitty Dots Red DP, Whisper White; Ink: B02 Robin's Egg Blue, E00 Skin White, E31 Brick Beige, N1 Neutral Grey No. 1, R29 Lipstick Red; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon

A Bit More!

This past week Gina K released all sorts of stamp sets and I took some time this weekend to create a card for one of their release challenges. With three challenges posted, I only got the chance to create one card, but I love the results!The third release challenge was to create a card where there was a main image or sentiment and whatever was used as a main focal point of the card was to be part of the background. So after sorting through all my stamps I got the chance to use my Elegant Flowers stamp set and I had so much fun with it! I used two tones of blue and white and added some fun crystal embellishments and some yummy may arts ribbon! Hope you like today's shared creations, and be sure to come back tomorrow, its Paper Pretties Peak time!

Stamps: Elegant Flowers, Kindred Greetings for Her from Gina K Stamps; Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point, Spring Rain; Ink: Pacific Point; Accessories: MFT Adornments Crystals, May Arts Ribbon, Pop Dots, Tiny Twinklets

Pretties Monday!

Guess what?! It's Monday which means it's Paper Pretties time! Not only is it Monday, but it is also the week of the next Paper Pretties stamp release, which means all sorts of fun things are going on, so before I chat about the card I created for today, I think you need to hear some wonderful Pretties news:


On Friday May 1st Paper Pretties will be hosting their monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party! The party starts at 6pm CDT and will last until 9pm. We will be issuing a challenge every hour so be sure to come and play along! Along with the challenges, chatter, and fun, we will also be releasing Hola Chica plus two new Sophias, re-releasing Rainy Day Friend in rubbah, and we will have a BRAND new set from a BRAND new artist! Sneak peeks start on Wednesday, April 29th! Hope to see you there!


It's Cutie Pie time once again! You have until Thursday, April 30th at 8pmCDT to get your entries uploaded to the Cutie Pie gallery at the Paper Pretties website. The winner will not only get to call themselves a Cutie Pie, but they will also receive all the new release stamps, and trust me you will be thrilled with your prizes! Good Luck to all of those that get the chance to play along!Did you see? We have a new Artist who will be kicking off a whole new line of adorable stamps, I can't wait to share my creations for this release with you, so be sure to wander back here on Wednesday for the beginning of the peaks! Now onto today's card! Since the month of April has almost passed, it's almost time for the design team to put away this super cute and fun stamp Make a Splash, which means that time is running out for you to sign up for the Stamp of the Month program and have this great stamp arrive on your doorstep during the month of May. Now, who are you kidding, you know that you need this stamp! So what are you waiting for, head on over to the Stamp of the Month page and sign up before you have to wait to be able to order her in June, you have until the 30th at midnight to still be eligible for this great stamp within your Stamp of the Month subscription. I pulled out this super cute summer paper that Christie sent me with my Christmas present this year, and I had forgotten all about it until I was rearranging things this weekend and I struck the jackpot! I love bright summery card, hope you enjoy today's creation! Hope you have a wonderful Monday everyone!
Stamps: Make a Splash from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Light Coral, Dark Coral, Bazzil CS, Summer DP; Ink: BG01Aqua Blue, E00 Skin White, E55 Light Caramel, R22 Light Prawn, Y11 Pale Yellow; Accessories: MFT Crystal Brads, Pop Dots

SheetLoads DT 'Interview'

As most of you know my favorite type of challenge is a sketch challenge and one of the places I look to for great sketches is SheetLoad of Cards. I heard about this fabulous digital magazine when Paper Pretties sponsored the December issue and since then I have followed not only the month issues, but also the great blog. The best part about this E-Zine is that not only do they supply some amazing samples, but they also tell you the dimensions to create actual sheet loads of card, how great is that?! Recently they posted a Design Team call and I thought I would apply, so this is my 'interview post'. For my 'interview' I get the chance to share with you three cards and one beyond the card creation based off one of the past or present sketches. I decided to use the current April issue as my inspiration, I really loved the layering on this sketch and was happy to give it a try. I was asked by a friend at work to create eight Mother's Day cards for him to give to his friends and family, so I thought this 'interview' would be the perfect time to create some of these cards. The first card I created with this sketch was this super cute vase full of flowers stamp from the Gina K stamp set Friendship Blooms, and since I was going with a Mother's Day theme I decided that pink and red was the way to go. I pulled out my Koh-I-Noor woodless color pencils and gemasol for a really simple but elegant water colored look. I used two different decorative papers the red dotted paper is called Bitty Dots from PTI and the second is one of my favorite lines of designer paper from SU! called Bella Rose. For this card I followed the sketch point by point, a little afraid to think outside of the box on this one, but I took some more risks as my cards continued. Of course a 'Happy Mother's Day' sentiment from the Gina K stamp set Kindred Greetings For Her which I think was the perfect way to complete the card.
The second card I created uses the Gina K stamp set Take Flight with the matching colors of white, blue, and a bit of purple. I really love the results on this card, I once again use my woodless colored pencils from Koh-I-Noor and gemasol and paired it with Pacific Point and Whisper White cardstock. I had a bit of a challenge finding just the right background paper for this card, but I ended up using some Pink Flamingo DP from SU!. Then for a finishing touch I added lots of little crystals called Tiny Twinklets and some shimmery flowers from the bridal section in Michael's. Then of course the sentiment to complete the card, I once again used the 'Happy Mother's Day' sentiment from the Gina K stamp set Kindred Greetings For Her.For my third card I used this cute bouquet of flowers from the Taylored Expressions set called Fresh Flowers, this was my first time using this set and I really liked the results I got. Last month I joined their new Key Ingredients Subscription Service, each month a kit complete with everything you need to make at least 16 cards shows up, so I thought it was the perfect way to create some fun cards. I picked this super cute floral decorative paper and two matching papers from the kit, a light coral and a darker tone of coral. I also decided to use some of the satin ribbon that came with the kit, I love the dark shade of red, it goes perfectly with the background paper. Then to finish off the card I used the sentiment from the again from the Fresh Flowers stamp set plus some more Tiny Twinklets in the corners.For my last creation we had to make a 'Beyond the Card' project, I wasn't sure what to make, and then I found my DVD tins! After seeing my DVD tins I decided to create a DVD Tin Scrapbook, the perfect gift for Mom on Mother's Day! Plus, since I love the Bella Rose DP from SU! I decided to use it for my main paper. I love the look inside this adorable DVD tin, I lined the inside with the rose print of the Bella Rose DP. If have never made one of these little DVD Tin scrapbooks you really should, they are super simple and the end result is a lot of fun. For the outside of the tin I selected Pure Poppy and Certainly Celery to match the fun decorative paper! I used this beautiful Rose image from the Gina K stamp set called Spring Blooms, I love how elegant it looks, perfect for this DP, plus once again an amazing sentiement from Kindred Greetings For Her.

I hope you liked my creations, I had a lot of fun working with this sketch. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, and if you haven't taken the time to visit SheetLoad of Cards, what are you waiting for?!
Card #1 - Stamps: Kindred Greetings For Her and Friendship Blooms from Gina K Stamps; Paper: Whisper White, Pure Poppy, Pink Pirouette, Bitty Dots DP from PaperTrey Ink, SU! Bella Rose DP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Koh-I-Noor Woodless Colored Pencils, Gemasol, EK Success Corner Rounder, Tiny Twinklets, Pop Dots, Quickie Glue Pen

Card #2 - Stamps: Kindred Greetings For Her and Take Flight from Gina K Stamps; Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point, SU! Pink Flamingo DP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Pop Dots, Tiny Twinklets, Quickie Glue Pen, Blue Bridal Flowers

Card #3 - Stamps: Fresh Flowers from Taylored Expressions; Paper: Whisper White, Light Coral, Dark Coral, Spring DP; Ink: Memento

Tuxedo Black, BG18 Teal Blue, G17 Forest Green, R08 Vermilion, R22 Light Prawn, Y11 Pale Yellow, YR61 Yellowish Skin Pink; Accessories: Pop Dots, Quickie Glue Pen, Tiny Twinklets, Satin Ribbon

Beyond the Card - Stamps: Kindred Greetings For Her and Spring Blooms from Gina K Stamps; Paper: Whisper White, Pure Poppy, Certainly Celery, SU! Bella Rose DP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, G24 Willow, R22 Light Prawn, R37 Carmine, Pure Poppy ; Accessories: DVD Tin, Sticky Strip, Tiny Twinklets, May Arts Ribbon, Quickie Glue Pen, Pop Dots, EK Success Corner Rounder, 1/8" Hole Punch, Red Brad

Reading Flopsey

The search for My Favorite Things Idol continues and as the top dwindles down I watch from the side lines as a Judge and I enjoy myself all the same! This week the Top Six were challenged to create a one layer card, oh the horror! Only one layer? We all know how trying one layer cards can be, but the thing I really like about a one layer card is that they can be simplistic. Honestly, I love clean, crisp lines and simplicity on most of my cards and those one layer cards are perfect for that. So this week I decided to pull out two of my Flopsey sets and use one great image and one great sentiment. I used a cream base and dug out my woodless color pencils from Koh-I-Noor for my Flopsey.I had a lot of fun with this weeks challenge, hope you got the chance to play along as well! Have a great Thursday everyone! Enjoy!
Stamps: What's the Story?, Reading Flopsey from My Favorite Things; Paper: Cream; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, N1 Neutral Grey No. 1; Accessories: MFT Spring Ribbon Bundle, Gemosal, Koh-I-Noor Woodless Colored Pencils, Blending Stumps, Scor-pal

Pretties New Technique!

Today is Wednesday, which means its Paper Pretties Design Team Challenge time! This week I get to share with you what I created for Jana's challenge to try out a new technique. I was totally unsure what technique to try out and I decided I wanted to construct something, so after looking around I decided to create my very own Gable Box! I have stamped on the already cut out ones, but never started from scratch so I thought that this would be the perfect chance to do so. I also wanted to use the new stamp set Right On Par since Father's Day isn't too far away. I love how cool and collective Luke looks in this set, and the sentiments that are included are just perfect! I love this paper and when I was searching though my DP stash, I thought it would go perfectly with Luke, what do you think? I hope you like today's creation be sure to make your way to the other Pretties Girl's blogs to see what new techniques they tried out!

Charmaine Ikach
Christi Thorsen
Danielle Lounds
Frances Byrne
Jackie Pedro
Jana Weaver
Jessica Diedrich
Jessie Rone
Jodi Collins
Julie Masse

Oh, and guess what?! This is my 500th post! I have no idea how I already created that many posts but I am thrilled about it, in celebration I have changed my profile photo and I will be attempting to add my hit counter back, there was some errors with it before but I plan on trying again! I was also thinking about possibly offering some blog candy, check back this weekend some time to see whats to come!
Stamps: Right on Par from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Paper Salon Tibeca - Large Squares; Ink: E00 Skin White, E31 Brick Beige, E57 Light Walnut, N1 Neutral No. 1, YG63 Pea Green; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Mega Mavry Oval Punch

Verveacious!

On Friday Verve Stamps released all sorts of fun stamps, and I got the chance to participate in all of the release challenges this month! I think that may be the second time that I was able to get them all compelted in time and I am thrilled with my results this time! There were two more sketches I used and a color challenge and I hope you like them all! I decided to share my favorite one from the challenges, my color combination challenge! The colors were to use light blue, light yellow, and light brown to create something, and I went to town! I started with a typical layout and then just went to town! I used this wonderful sentiment that I love, pluse these super cute flowers. I also got the chance to ink up a few of my stamp sets that have yet to see ink. I have plans to complete this months Viva La Verve challenges, so we shall see if that happens, but I LOVE Verve sketches, actually truth be told I love sketches! I hope you enjoy my post today! Enjoy!
Stamps: Miracles Blossom from Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Kraft, Light Yellow, PTI Bitty Dots; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Spring Rain, Y11 Pale Yellow; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Pop Dots

Pretties Monday!

Always a great way to kick off a brand new week, with a Paper Pretties card! This week I am sharing with you the card I created with the newests Pretties Weekly Challenge! This week the Pretties challenge was to create a card following a fabulous sketch from the always wonderful Danielle! Each week she is the Pretties Girls who hosts the Weekly Challenges, and each week they seem to get better and better! This weeks card sketch is super cute, like the rest have all been!This week I had to use the newest Stamp of the Month, the super cute Make a Splash Sophia! Isn't she just the cutest little girl ever?! I used some of my fun Basic Grey paper and pulled a few tones of red and pink from there to add more details to the card. Here are some details!

How to Enter: make your card with the provided sketch and any Paper Pretties stamp set(s). Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges category and use keyword PWC48.

Deadline: midnight on Wednesday, April 22nd.Prize: $5.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique.The winner will be randomly selected from among the qualifying entrants and announced after the contest has ended.

Hope you like today's creation! Be sure to play along with this weeks Paper Pretties Weekly Challenge! You can win $5.00 to the Pretties Store, always a great was to add on to your Paper Pretties stamp collection!
Stamps: Make A Splash from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pure Poppy, Basic Grey Bittersweet DP; Ink: B02 Robin's Egg Blue, E00 Skin White, E57 Light Walnut, R29 Lipstick Red, RV21 Light Pink, Y02 Canary Yellow, Pure Poppy; Accessories: Large Circle Scalloped and Regular Nestabilities, Pop Dots, Sponge, MFT Adorment Crystals, Bridal Flowers, Quickie Glue Pen

Blooming Verve

This week is the new Verve Stamps release and with every new stamp release Verve hosts all sorts of great challenges! This release brings four great challenges, three great sketches and an all new color combo! I started with the first sketch from this release, and I decided to go springy with it! I have always loved Julee’s sketches, but her release sketches always seem more fun to me, I am not sure why, but the challenge always seems a bit harder, but well worth the effort! One of my favorite part to these sketches is how they make me look for ways to fit my instant inspiration into the sketch itself. When I start a sketch challenge I always pick out a stamp set that I think coordinates with the feel to the sketch. Some sketches seem regal, some are cute and fun, this one just shouted ‘spring’, although I don’t know what it was. I set out looking through all my Verve Stamps, as you may imagine I have a ‘few’ to select from and I settled on one of my newest sets Floral Symphony from the last Verve release. I love the tulips and the sentiments in this set so I just had to use both. I love how the entire card came out, the colors seem to work well, and the end result really did scream ‘spring’ like I wanted it to! Hope everyone has a great day, I do apologize for the missing Anya post yesterday for the Hop. My doctor’s appointment lasted a lot longer then expected and I didn’t get to finish the card I had created, but hopefully I can share that creation with everyone this weekend!
Stamps: Floral Symphony from Verve Stamps; Paper: Whisper White, Melon Berry, Summer Sunrise, SU! Spring DP; Ink: Melon Berry, New Leaf; Accessories: MFT Crystal Brad Adornments, pop dots

Pretties Party Time! Happy Birthday Jana!

Not only is today the best day of the week, since it's Paper Pretties Design Team Challenge, but it is also a fellow Pretties Girl's birthday! That's right ladies, its Jana's birthday! Happy Birthday wishes going out to our Birthday Girl, Jana! So today I combined the challenge that Charmaine issued to the Pretties Girl's two weeks ago with a birthday card, resulting in a 'bright, fun Summer palette of colors with a birthday celebration! In fact, we are having a bit of a Birthday Hop! We start the Birthday festivities off at Christie's Blog, then we hop all the way to here! After you stop by here, be sure to swing my Jessie's blog to continue on your way along the Birthday trail! I had a lot of fun making this summery card! I used one of my old favorite Sophia stamps, Flutter By, she is super cute and in bright colors she is even better! I was sorting through my decrative paper and this one just screamed summer to me, so I got to work matching the paper with my Copics and papers, I think it worked out! I used part of the sentiment from Bugs and Fishes then I added a bit of bling and a fun and siple bow to finish it off. Hope you like your birthay card Jana, it's heading your way! Be sure to check out the other Pretties Girl's great summery birthday creations!

Charmaine Ikach

Christi Thorsen

Danielle Lounds

Frances Byrne

Jackie Pedro

Jana Weaver

Jessica Diedrich

Jessie Rone

Jodi Collins

Julie Masse

After you finish the hop be sure to stop by Jana's to leave her some birthday love, you know she wants some! Have a great a summery day, yes I know its still spring, but these colors inspire!

Stamps: Flutter By and Bugs and Fishes from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, SU! Pink Flamingo DP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Berry Sorbet, E00 Skin White, E57 Light Walnut, R22 Light Prawn, Y17 Golden Yellow, YG03 Yellow Green; Accessories: Pop Dots, MFT Adornment Crystals, May Arts Ribbon, Tiny Twinklets, Quickie Glue Pen

MFT Idol Judges Creations!

This week the My Favorite Things Idol challenge is all about the Judges, and this week as a Judge I got the chance to think out side the 'Tin' and come up with something fun. Since Easter was this weekend I wanted to create an Easter set of some sort, but I didn't know where to start. Then I looked at the stamp sets I had just ordered from My Favorite Things and I thought Paper Dolls! But how to make it different from what others might make I wasn't sure how to start. After thinking about it for a while I decided to create a paper doll set for both girls and boys, one showcasing the Ben Paper Dolls and another set showcasing the Isabella Dolls set.

So I set out to create two complete paper doll sets and a matching card for each to create an Easter basket of fun! I also wanted something catchy, so I went out in search of Peeps! That's right, I wanted to use the sentiment 'Hangin' With My Peeps' on each of the Paper Doll sets to match the Peeps in the Easter basket. I used the Night Night Ellie and the Cuddle Up Carter stamp sets to complete the outside of each tin with the sentiment that I just had to use!And no My Favorite Things creation would be complete without a card to match! So I dug out my Eggstra Special stamp set and create a simple and fun matching boy and girl card. Enjoy!
Stamps: Eggstra Special, Hangin' With MyPeeps, Night Night Ellie, Cuddle Up Carter, Ben Paper Dolls, Isabella Paper Dolls from My Favorite Things; Paper: Whisper White, Spring Rain, Raspberry Tart, SU! Flowers for You DP, SU! Jersey Shore DP, Only Orange, Pretty In Pink, Lavender Moon Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, B02 Robin's Egg Blue, B14 Light Blue, E00 Skin White, E55 Light Caramel, E57 Light Walnut, G14 Apple Green, N1 Neutral No. 1, N3 Neutral No. 3, R20 Blush, R27 Cadmium Red, RV11 Pink, RV14 Begonia Pink, RV21 Light Pink, V12 Pale Lilac; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Pop Dots, Color-A-Mag Sheets, Sticky Strip, Peeps, Easter Basket, DVD Tin

A Big Splash!

I am loving this new Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month for May, Make a Splash. If you haven't read up on all the details on how to own this adorable stamp and matching sentiment before anyone else, be sure to check out all the details on the Stamp of the Month page at the Paper Pretties website! Ladies, these stamps seem to get better and better each and ever month, so take the plunge and just dive in already! I got the chance to use my newest Nestabilities this weekend for this creation, I finally went and ordered the Labels One set and I am thrilled with it! Plus, the size of the dies is perfect for this adorable Sophia, doesn't she look great modeling the Labels One set?! I also decided to use my Oval punches from SU! I always for get I have them, until I see one of the other Pretties Girl's use it and its like a light bulb goes off in my head, oh yea! I really do have a lot of fun with this stamp, she is so cute, and unlike anything I've seen other companies come out with, I know you will love her! Hope you all have a wonderful day today, and enjoy the splash!

Stamps: Make a Splash from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Pure Poppy, Only Orange, SU! Washington Apple DP; Ink: B14 Light Blue, BG01 Aqua Blue, E00 Skin White, E57 Light Walnut, R37 Cadmium Red, Y13 Lemon Yellow; Accessories: Nestabilities Label One, SU! Large and Regular Oval Punch, May Arts Ribbon

A Little Baby Fun

I was going through all my pictures and I realized that I had yet to share with you all the fun things I created for Jana when we heard she was expecting. The Pretties Girl's decided that we should either buy or create something for her and the baby as well as create a two page scrapbook layout. I decided to buy a few fun onesies and get to work stamping some fun kiddie images on them. I went with these little frogs, fishes, and an elephant from Paper Trey, as well as this adorable baby tin and washcloths to finish off the package! Don't these look adorable! Then it was time to try a fun two page spread for the 6x6 album all the Pretties Girl's pages would be able to fill. I rarely scrapbook anything anymore, but when I do I have so much fun! Baby pages are always a lot of fun to create!Christie was so nice to send us all the same papers so that our 6x6 pages would all flow together nicely in a cute little 6x6 scrapbook. I used my fun Baby First set from SU! (one of my all time favorite baby sets) and this adorable stickers I found for baby! I really did have a lot of fun laying out these pages, I missed it to be honest.
Plus, no present is complete without a fun baby card! I made this card using the fun Gina K set How Sweet it is, I love the images and the simplicity of this set. Hope you like this set of goodies today, I had forgotten all about the fact that I still had images to share with you from these goodies!

Some Flower Fun!

I have been having a blast with the My Favorite Things Idol contest! I am far from making the top 10 at the start of the contest, but I am still participating as an Idol Judge and us Judges are still enjoying each and every day of this contest! Each week there is a challenge posted for the remaining contestants, plus the Judges are invited to play along and I have been doing my darnest to take part in those challenges! This weeks challenge was to use the stamp set Build a Bouquet, a set that I had yet to ink up and I was so unsure if I was going to be able to create anything I was going to like. But, inspiration hit while driving home on Monday with a great idea, and I went with it! I received my newest My Favorite Things stamps, and inside that package was my new Flopsey called Flopsey Flowers and he would look just perfect to match this set! So I got to work inking up my Build A Bouquet set and adding a bit of Flopsey to the scene to make it all work out. I am loving all of the creations that everyone created this week and I can't wait to see who makes the top 6, man is this a great contest! Hope everyone has a great day!
Stamps: Build a Bouquet, Flopsey Flowers from My Favorite Things; Paper: Whisper White, Kraft, Dark Chocolate; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Pacific Point, Lavender Moon, Spring Rain, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, New Leaf, B21 Baby Blue, E55 Light Caramel, G21 Lime Green, R39 Garnet, Y38 Honey; Accessories: Pop Dots, Quickie Glue Pen, MFT Crystal Adornments, Tiny Twinklets, Sponge

Pretties Wednesday!

Today is Wednesday, which means that today is Paper Pretties Design Team Challenge time! This week I get to share with you the card I created for Jules' sketch challenge, and you know how I love sketch challenges! I also love the newest Stamp of the Month, Make a Splash!



So I was thrilled about this challenge, and Jules created a great sketch to use and it would look wonderful with a little 'Splash'! I am loving using bright colors again, so I went with some more fun bright paper and some colors I haven't used in a while tempting turquoise and only orange! Doesn't she look adorable in this color combo! Be sure to check out the other Pretties Girl's creations, I know they all rocked this one!
Charmaine Ikach
Christi Thorsen
Danielle Lounds
Frances Byrne
Jackie Pedro

Jana Weaver

Jessica Diedrich
Jessie Rone

Jodi Collins

Julie Masse

Hope you enjoyed today's creation, loving the sketch and bright colors! Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday all, mid week is a wonderful time!

Stamps: Make a Splash from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, SU! DP; Ink: B05 Process Blue, E00 Skin White, E57 Light Walnut, Y17 Golden Yellow, YR16 Apricot; Accessories: SU! Scalloped Punch

Right On Par

I am still loving these new stamps everyone, have you seen the full set of our releases at Paper Pretties yet? If you haven't be sure to check it all out, it's so much fun! Plus we now have a stamp storage solution, which we all need, we released a Binder! Not only is it super cute, but it comes with inserts, be sure to check it out, you need one! Today I am sharing with you the card I created for this weeks Pretties Weekly Challenge, we are already up to #46, how great is that! I used the newest set Right On Par for this fun, manly card.I love the sketches that Danielle creates, she is the wonderful Prettie Girl that hosts the challenges every week. Each challenge seems to get better and you can win some goodies too! Here are the great details for the Weekly Challenges!

How to Enter: make your card with the provided sketch and any Paper Pretties stamp set(s). Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges category and use keyword PWC46.

Deadline: midnight on Wednesday, April 8th.Prize: $5.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique.The winner will be randomly selected from among the qualifying entrants and announced after the contest has ended.

So what are you waiting for?! You have got to try these challenges out, plus with the newly released stamps you know you need some extra spending money! Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Stamps: Right on Par from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, New Leaf, SU! DP, Pacific Point; Ink: B29 Ultramarine, E00 Skin White, E55 Light Caramel, N3 Neutral Grey No. 3, YG09 Lettuce Green, YR16 Apricot; Accessories: Quickie Glue Pen, May Arts Grosgrain Ribbon, MFT Crystal Adorments

Springy!

Cleaning through the cards I haven't posted here yet and I found another one! I created this card a few weeks ago for one of the Gina K stamp release challenges, the challenge was to create a spring card, and I had a lot of fun with this one! I used the materials that came in my Gina K Stamp TV kit and followed the step by step tutorial that Gina K gave on Stamp TV to color in this image with pencils and gemasol. I've tried that technique before and I had a lot of fun following Ginas details, they made the technique seem easier some how. I just love this stamp, and I am thrilled that I ordered the kit otherwise I wouldn't have it and that would be no fun at all! Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday, I plan on stamping again today, always a great thing to do!
Stamps: Elegant Flowers from Gina K; Paper: Pure White Gina K, Layering Accent Pack, Bitty Dots; Ink: Koh-I-Noor Colored Pencils, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Green Grosgrain Ribbon

A Bit of Verve

Every week at the Verve Forum on SCS the wonderful Amber hosts a fun sketch challenge called Viva La Verve! Not only are the sketches amazing each week, but there is also the possibility to win something for participating every week and using the 'twist' to the sketch. I almost completed all of the March sketches, and I never shared week two or three here on my blog, so its time to share today!

For both of these cards I used the newest stamp sets released from Verve, I am loving these sets! I also love the smell of the new stamps coming out of the packaging, and they get even better when you create something that you really like. I went for bright and springy cards with these sketches and I had a blast. I am hoping to get the chance to participate all month long for the April sketches, I love sketch challenges, and Amber really does a great job, plus the twists make it even more fun! Hope you have a wonderful Saturday everyone, I plan on creating some cards all day today, its going to be all sorts of fun!

Card 1- Stamps: Miracles Blossom and Chocolate Bunnies from Paper Pretties; Paper: Pure Poppy, Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Raspbery Tart DP; Ink: Pure Poppy, New Leaf, R14 Light Rogue, YG03 Yellow Green; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Tiny Twinklets from Taylored Expressions
Card 2- Stamps: Circular Sayings and Miracles Blossom from Paper Pretties; Paper: New Leaf, PTI Bitty Dots, Mini Garden Stripe Chatter Box, Whisper White, Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding; Ink: New Moon, Lavender Moon, V12 Pale Lilac, V93 Early Grape; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Tiny Twinklets from Taylored Expressions, Pop Dots

Pretty in Pink!

Last night was the Paper Pretties release and the party was rocking! Unfortunately I wasn't feeling to good so I not only got their late, but then I fell asleep! I went to lay down for a minute to rest my eyes and didn't wake up until about 11:30pm or so, ah! So I missed most of the party, but I had to at least share one of my cards for the challenges that were issued! I created this card as part of the clothing inspired challenge Charmaine issued during the release party! You were supposed to make a card inspired by what you were wearing at the time, fun huh?! Every night after work I come home, shower, and put on my PJs but when it gets a little cold I pull out my pink fluffy rode, almost identical to Bunny Slippers Sophia! I love it, nice and comfy and lots of pink! So I hope you get the comfy factor, I love this robe! Have a great Thursday everyone, and be sure to check out not only all the new stamp sets but also the stamp binder that Paper Pretties now has on sale!
Stamps: Bunny Slippers from Paper Pretties; Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, SU! DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, E00 Skin White, E31 Brick Beige, E55 Light Caramel, N1 Neutral Grey No. 1, RV21 Light Pink; Accessories: MFT Crystal Adornments, May Arts White Ribbon, Pop Dots, Large Scalloped and Regular Nestabilities

Pretties Wednesday and Release Day!

Not only is today the Pretties Girl's Challenge, but today is also April 1st which means it is release day! I love big days like this, they are just so much fun! So since today is Wednesday I get to share with you my creation for Frances challenge from two weeks ago to create an ATC! So I was going through my Pretties stamps trying to decide which stamp to use when I realized that I can use the new Stamp of the Month starting today! YAY! I would like to introduce you to Make a Splash! Isn't this stamp just so cute! She shows her age in this stamp I think, and I just love it to death! Not really a great ATC since the stamp is pretty large, but I just had to use her since I could! Be sure to check out the other Pretties Girl's I know they must have some great creations for your viewing pleasure!

Charmaine Ikach
Christi Thorsen
Danielle Lounds
Frances Byrne
Jackie Pedro

Jana Weaver
Jessica Diedrich
Jessie Rone

Jodi Collins

Julie Masse

Hope to see you all this evening in the Pretties forum for some fun times! The party starts at 6pm CDT and will last until 9pm. We will be issuing a challenge every hour so be sure to come and play along! Have a great day all, and get ready for some great releases!

Stamps: Make a Splash from Paper Pretties; Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point; Ink: B14 Light Blue, BG01 Aqua Blue, E00 Skin White, E55 Light Caramel, RV14 Begonia Pink, Y08 Acid Yellow; Accessories: MFT Gem Brads