A Sale and Open Calls

First, Queen Kat Designs is having a sale on stamps- 40% off!! Take a look and pick up some of the wonderful stamps available.

Scrapbook News and Review is having open calls for the June and July issues, you can find the details here.

Have a super fantastic weekend!!

Know the Plans

I was so happy to have participated in this week's sketch challenge at SCS, SC230. A super fun one with lots of layers.

I used a quote from the Believe set, which I don't see on the site. Maybe it's sold out, I'll get with Katie to find out.

Thank heavens it's Friday! I must say that although I have a ton of work to do at home, it'll be nice to get it done. My good friend will be here on Friday night, so I have to prepare my wreck of a home. But, the good news is that I have only two days of work next week, then a few vacation days.

Bubbling Over

This image and sentiment were stamped out for me from Lynn. I love the Changito stamps, they are too much fun.

I went a little nutso with the Dazzling Diamonds, but bubbles can be sparkly! I am also loving the airbrush compressor, so easy to use with Copics.

Getting ready for the weekend, it should be pretty uneventful, but I hope to get loads done. I'm also getting some images colored, so when the time comes, I can start creating.

SNR is having open calls for the June and July issues, please be sure to take a look.

Oh, and be sure to check the Queen Kat Designs blog, it's my day to post and you don't want to miss it.

Stitched Together

If you have arrived at my blog on your own, please be sure to go to the Queen Kat Designs blog to view all the goodness of today's blog hop. If you have arrived from the Queen Kat Designs blog, you are on the right track.

Today's Royal Kat Wednesday challenge is to use stitching on your card, real or faux. I opted for faux stitching.

I used one of the lovely trees from the Funky Trees set for my card today. Still having lots of fun with the airbrush machine. The Kaiser Craft rhinestones are the finishing touch.

Your next stop is Juliet, happy hopping!

Hi There, Ketto

This little Ketto image is one that Michelle stamped out for me. Cute, cute, cute!

I used lovely papers from Stampin' Up! called, Pink Flamingo. They are so vibrant and beautiful and I have had lots of fun using them. The sketch is Mojo44, a great one with lots of layers.

I completed my first article for Scrapbook News and Review, sent the pictures on Sunday. My hope is that people find it useful and informative, and keep coming back for more because I have tons of material to cover. LOL It'll be in the June issue, I hope you take a look.

Any Winged Thing

Happy Memorial Day!

Today, Paper Makeup Stamps is sponsoring a challenge for the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's campaign. Duke's Mother passed away a few years ago, she suffered from Alzheimer's for the 9 years that I knew her. In fact, I never knew her before it. It is hard to watch someone you love suffer from this disease. I think it's almost worst than most out there because it robs you of the very thing you live for, memories.

The challenge is to use "Any Winged Thing" on your card; it can be a fairy, butterfly, bird, etc. I used Sprout, one of my favorite fairies. She is just exquisite and so fun to color. I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz to her wings, can't leave them bare.

I sure hope you can play along, remember there is a $25 gift certificate to Paper Makeup Stamps up for grabs. Please use the tag PMSSOA in the gallery so we can easily see all the cards in one place! What are you waiting for? Get busy!!

Members of the Stampin Out Alzheimers event will also get a coupon code to the PMS website for 10% off their order. You'll just have to look for our blinkie in the sidebar to get the code.

Watermelon Bee

This is one of the images I received from Lynn; a cute little Stampendous Bee.

You can see I had to try out the airbrush compressor with my copic markers, such a fun effect. I definitely need practice and will be doing that this weekend with any luck. Fun! It's a little noisier than I had hoped.

Cody had to try it out too, thank goodness it's simple enough to do. He had a blast; even made a scene with flowers and leaves. His teacher will be the recipient of that little gem.

I hope to enjoy the long weekend ahead. It'll be great to stay in my jammies for sure. But, there is some cleaning to be done as well since I will be having guests in a little over a week. Gotta get the dust bunnies OUT. So, time to clean the cabinets, windows, and baseboards.

Tower of Cuppies

So the image is one I received from Allison, cute cuppies.

I went with a very simple, unfussy layout and then just used my nesties to cut out the image and the scalloped mat.

I managed to get quite a bit done creatively yesterday and hope for more of the same over the weekend.

My HS BFF is arriving the first week of June, so I am taking some extra days off from work to spend some time with her and her family. They will be staying in Gatlinburg until Friday, at which time she will be staying a couple days with me. Yippers! I am extremely happy to be seeing her, it's been about 20 years.

A Fairy Nice Day

I got to participate in the SCS Sketch Challenge this week, SC229. Woot!

Ashlie was perfect for the main image panel for this week's sketch, so I went with it. I used some fun colors that matched this super pretty paper from American Crafts. I just love the polka dots. Once she was colored, I added stickles to her wings. Stickles are just perfect for all the fairies that Paper Makeup Stamps carries.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday. I am awaiting delivery of my airbrush compressor and hope to get some practice time in before the boy gets home.

A Few RAKs

Allison sent this stamp set from Making Memories, two Studio G sets, 2 rolls of American Crafts ribbon, and a great card. SCORE! All of this for playing along in her No Housework Day challenge.

The ribbon and card are in an undisclosed location....the boy took off with them before I snapped the photo and I was too lazy to look for it.

The fabulously talented and sweet Lynn, sent me some Changitos, Stampendous Bees, and Riley images. And a gorgeous card, which again, has been kidnapped and being held for ransom.

The images at the top are from Michelle, a great stamper and friend. She sent Kettos, Gorjuss Girls, Magnolias, and all sorts of other images. I can't wait to get coloring!

Thanks to all of you for thinking about me, I am lucky to have such great blogging friends.

Sweet Piece of Cake

Doesn't that slice of cake look scrumptious?! It's from the Mini Sweets set at Queen Kat Designs.

This is a sketch from AmyR's guest designer, Tammy Fielder AMYRTFS1. A fun sketch with lots of layers. My circle is not quite as large, but I really wanted to use this image.

The designer papers are from American Crafts and just have a confection feel to them. Wondermous for these types of images.

A PMS Color Challenge

The fabulous Lisa chose the colors of watermelon pink and apple green, accented with either black or white for the challenge this week.

I decided to use the ever cute Arianna for my card today, she's just precious.

Be sure to go to the PMS blog to see all the Design Team creations.

I hope you can play along with us this week! Remember, you don't have to use PMS stamps. When you upload to SCS or PCP, be sure to use the keyword PMSMC12 so they are all in one place.

Graduation Rocks

My friend Barb knows several young women graduating from high school and college soon and asked for some Rockabella cards with the You Rock sentiment.

This is one of three that I made, using different papers and colors, but sticking with the same layout-from the Bella Sketch Challenges.

We are going to see the new Temptations Revue show here in Pigeon Forge tonight. They are having their Grand Opening and since the company I work for does their advertising, we get complimentary tickets. Duke and I are big fans and are excited to see the show; it's not often we get out of the house for things like this. Of course, the boy is going with us, so I hope he enjoys it too.

Cody may have to have surgery to remove his adenoids (sp?) and tonsils; he's snoring like a wild animal and has been keeping us all awake for about a month. Plus, he sometimes stops breathing, not a good sign. We see a specialist next week and will know more about this then.

Mini Sweet

This is my take on the Beary Box sketch for this week.

I used Mini Sweets again, paired with this paper from American Crafts. Such a fun sketch to play with this week, I like it.

I hope you find the time to sample the sketch. If you do, be sure to link to the Beary Box blog so that we can all see your work. You just might win this week's prize.

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers Hop

It's Wednesday and that means another blog hop for Queen Kat Designs. Our challenge this week is flowers, flowers, flowers.

If you came directly to my blog, you are missing the hop fun! If you came here from the Queen Kat Designs blog, you are on the right track.

We all have flowers, right?! So get them out and use them on your card or project.

I used Shroomies, again, I love this stamp! The flowers are some that I found at Target of all places, I just added some bling to the centers.

The next stop on the hop is Beverly.

How's It Waggin'?

I finally used one of Dustin Pike's dinosaurs available for purchase at Paper Makeup Stamps.

The sentiment is from H&M Stamps, A Little Behind. The dinosaur reminded me of the one in Night At The Museum, hence how I thought the sentiment was so clever.

Cody helped with sponging the edges....notice that the sponging is everywhere. Ah well, I love it when he helps, but then he gets his own artistic vision and phooey with mine. It still came out great!

I'd also like to wish Nancy a very Happy Birthday, she is a huge supporter of PMS. Have a great day girl!

Kayleigh's Fairy

ETA: I just found out that $38,000.00 was raised at Dakota's benefit. I am just astounded at the generosity and love our Dakota has been shown during this most difficult time.

This is my entry for one of the challenges Christi issued at the PMS May Release Party on Thursday. This one is a sketch challenge, I love those! AND, for Lisa's challenge to Bling It On.

I used A Fairy For Kayleigh for my main image. She is full of sparkle, I used both Shimmerz and Stickles.
Hop on over to the PMS Forum to see all the challenges; if you don't have PMS stamps....no worries, we just want to see what you've got.

When you upload to any public gallery like SCS or PCP, please use the keyword PMSRP04 (sketch) and PMSMC11 (Monday challenge).

Your Blog Makes Me Smile

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I received this award from my girls Anessa and Lynn, thanks ladies-right back at ya!

Details for the award:
Cut & paste the award logo and put it on your own blog
Pass it along to at least 5 other bloggers and leave them a comment with a link to this post
Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

I am passing this onto:

Jenn D
Cindy Haffner
Michelle
Lisa Foster
Lisa Kind

Dakota and Cody

I thought I would post a picture of my nephew, Dakota, so that you could see who all the prayers are for.

This picture was taken at this benefit dinner and auction last Saturday. Maybe you can tell from the picture that he was not feeling well after that week's round of chemo. Poor kid had massive blisters in his mouth and was having a hard time talking and just plain didn't feel good. We are still waiting to hear if the tumors have shrunk and exactly how much more treatment is needed.

I don't know what's going on with Cody...look at that face!

Great News

I have some good news.

I have accepted a Staff position at Scrapbook News and Review, an online magazine. I have been submitting cards and projects to them for some time, you can see my publication resume on the left. They have been so receptive of my work and I am thrilled to be part of something so dynamic.

Since I recently became a Copic Certified Designer, they have requested that I teach their readers all I know on the subject. I am far from an expert, but feel very comfortable using them and hope that I can shed some light on how fabulous they are.

As many of you are aware, I also design for two stamp companies and a store, and this will not be changing. However, with the added responsibility and only so many hours in the day, I have come to realize that it will no longer be possible for me to post to my blog on a daily basis. At least until I can figure this all out, it is my intention to only post during the week.

I hope that you all will still stick around and understand where I am coming from. I totally love all of you and am so grateful to have such a wonderful group to call my friends.

Obviously, I hope you all check out the site, they have a fabulous forum filled with wonderful and helpful women with a true love of the craft.

Versatility Box

I decided to try Lauren Meader's Versatility Box for some planters I intend to give all the gals at work for Mother's Day. Super simple and makes for great presentation.

I pulled out the super cute Girlfriends stamp and colored each to look like my co-worker and myself.

Here is the view of the box closed and fastened with ribbon and a ribbon slide.

And, here is the inside. The pot is one I found at the Dollar Tree; I just filled them with potting soil and added a few seeds.

Hopefully, they go over well.

PMS Release Day

If you've come straight to my blog, you are missing the hop; please be sure to start here . You can find out how to be entered to win the ENTIRE release.

If you have come here from Meli's blog, you are on the right track. You want to make sure you get all the letters, in order, for a special code to receive an extra 7% off your order.

Here is another card/ gift idea I made using Dude, being released today at Paper Makeup Stamps. I decided to put some whale crackers in a pastry bag and then tied it off with some thin green grosgrain ribbon. This would definitely be fun to do for a boy's birthday party.

The image is so fun to color and I love that Paper Makeup Stamps is giving us stampers some options when it comes to boys. We have this stamp as well as some dino stamps illustrated by the talented Dustin Pike coming out today. So fun!

I have the letter P. Your next stop is fabulously talented and sweet Lisa.

Don't forget that the party starts at 9:00 PM est tonight on the Paper Makeup forum. There are challenges and all sorts of fun, and one lucky person will win the entire release. I hope you can join us for all the fun!

The Word of God

This is my take on this week's sketch from Beary Box.

The sentiment is from the Believe Scripture set from Paper Makeup Stamps.

We hope you find time to sample the sketch this week. Be sure to link to the Beary Box blog so you are eligible to win this week's fab prize.

Queen Kat Release Day

It's release day at Queen Kat Designs, so that means a Blog Hop. So many great stamps are being released this month, go check them out.

If you came here from Juliet's blog, you are on the right track. If not, you need to start at the Queen Kat Designs blog to enjoy all the eye candy from the start. Are you enjoying everything so far?!

I love, love, love this stamp, it is perfect for all the females in your life and for nearly every occasion. Plus, they are simply adorable, loads of fun to color, and full of character.

The next stop on the hop is the ever talented Shannon.

Enjoy!!

Ashlie Makes a Friend

Another card made with Ashlie, I just love her. Of course, I say that of all of them, but I mean it.

I took this picture in the middle of the night, hence the weird glare. I made this one to look like my sister. When she was younger, she had the prettiest colored hair, tons of highlights. Now, she's stuck in the '80's with her hair. No amount of convincing has made her change it in all this time.

On May 7th, Paper Makeup Stamps will be having a blog hop to celebrate the new release.

Oh and the party starts at 9:00 pm EST, in the Paper Makeup Forum. Katie has worked extra hard to get it up and running. Be sure to get there early this week to get registered. There will be challenges and tons of chatter, someone will win the entire release! I can tell you that you will not be disappointed in this month's release, so many gorgeous stamps! Join us!

PMS Monday Challenge

Today PMS challenge was issued by Kim; she wanted us to make a bookmark, such a fun challenge.

I took inspiration from Amy Sheffer for this bookmark, mine is not nearly as ornate as hers, but the general design is similar.

This one is going to a friend of mine for Mother's Day! She enjoys reading every night, so she should get plenty of use from it. I made another for my Mother, she loved it.

Be sure to head over to the PMS blog and feast your eyes on what the other members of the Design Team did, they will knock your socks off.

On May 7th, Paper Makeup Stamps will be having a blog hop to celebrate the new release.

Oh and the party starts at 9:00 pm EST, in the Paper Makeup Forum. Katie has worked extra hard to get it up and running. Be sure to get there early this week to get registered. There will be challenges and tons of chatter. Join us!

Surf's Up, Dude

This is another super cute fairy being released on May 7th from Paper Makeup Stamps.

His name is Dude and he is totally awesome! He's perfect for all the summer holidays and especially boy cards. He sure looks like he's having fun, doesn't he?!

Oh, and to get the highlights in his hair, I used a lighter shade of brown instead of removing color with the colorless blender. A lighter color will push a darker color out of the way. I am speaking of Copics, of course.

Be sure to check out the Paper Makeup Stamps blog to see what the other Design Team members did with their new stamps.

Snail Mail

ETA: Katie is giving 10% off everything in the store today, just use the code NSD09 when you check out.

This is one of the 4 incredibly beautiful fairies being released this month from Paper Makeup Stamps. Wait until you see them all; the entire DT went nuts. In addition to the fairies, we have loads of other images coming out!

Her name is Ashlie and her face is just equisite. This one reminds me of my sister when we were younger, she was always crawling around looking at critters.

I went with a very simple layout, just embellishing with rhinestones and the embossing.

The sentiment is one of several being released this month as well, lots of good ones that can be used for almost any "fairy" special occasion.

Queen Kat Girlfriends

Vicki of Queen Kat Designs is having a Design Team call, you can read about it here. Good luck!!

We are kicking the month off with a big huge SALE!!! Until Monday, take:
40% off of all QKD stamps
20% off of all Past kits
50% off of all Clearance Items
Don't wait till the last day to order. Get your order in today. Shop now and save BIG!

This cute little stamp is a May Release called Girlfriends from Queen Kat Designs.



So cute and fun, perfect for almost any kind of card or project you need. I used my Dill Blossom papers from SEI, love the earthy, muted tones.

Here is another one for your viewing pleasure.

They are so cute and lots of fun to color, they have so much detail. I decided to go bold and used some bright colors, it's been a while. The designer papers are from American Crafts and Martha Stewart, miraculously they went together well.

Have a great weekend!