All Papertrey

K, I don't really have anything exciting to say today (hmmm, do I ever, really?). I just wanted to post this card so those of you who stalk would have something new to look at. I really like this paper. Sometimes I get paper to work for me and sometimes I just look at it like, "uhhh, what do I do with this?" And this is always paper I bought myself, thinking to myself (or sometimes saying out loud to myself as I've been known to do standing alone in the paper aisle at Michael's), "oh, the fabulous things I could do with this paper..." Yeah, and then I get home and the "fabulous" thoughts have so totally left the building and I just stare at it. But I did just get some new paper and I really feel like I can do something with it (cross your fingers, people), so I'm gonna try that. I guess I'd better hurry. I need something for Saturday (2 or 3, actually - I'm not really sure, I confuse easily) and I haven't even thought about end of the year stuff for my teachers or *gasp* Father's Day. But I'm not really feeling guy stuff right now. Please, when am I ever? Think Shawn would like a Lily card? Ooh! I could put 3 Lilys together & they could be the girls! Guess I'd better get busy.

Stamps: Boxes, Bags & Tags and Birthday Basics, Ink: Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Paper: White & Spring Moss CS, Pink Patterns Collection, Accessories: Spring Moss Twill ribbon (whole flippin' thing - Papertrey)

One of a Kind

Hey all! I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend - well, those of you that have one. Most weekends, I hope for a day when I don't have to leave my house, and then I end up leaving anyway. I went out yesterday, and it was no big deal, but I still had to do something with my hair. Darn vanity! My goal is to have a day when I don't have to deal with my hair. *sigh* Something just always seems to come up. I've still got 2 shots left at this, so we'll see how that goes.

So, the other day, I had an awesome idea for my butterfly punch that I love. Yeah, that one didn't work out so great, so this is what happened instead. Sometimes I even surprise myself. And on this one, I set the top butterflies a little over to the side, so even when you look at it straight on, you can see the black underneath. You can't tell here, cuz I took the shot at an angle, so you're just gonna have to take my word for it. But this one came together just right, and I'm crazy pleased with myself.

Stamps: One of a Kind (SU!), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Papertrey white, Soft Sky, Cool Caribbean, Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Snow Lily

Hey there, friends! Ok, first off, I have to let you all know that this is my 100th post. How wacky is that? I have come up with random stuff to ramble about 100 times. And you people, clearly with nothing better to do, are still here. Unbelievable. Oh, yes. We've laughed, we've cried, we've shared embarrassing stories about our kids...All in all, a good time was had by, well, me. Hopefully, you've enjoyed yourselves, too, at least once or twice.

Now, on to the card. Honestly, people, if this doesn't make you say, "awwww", or fall in love with snowmen or feel some kind of squishy emotion, there's something seriously wrong with you. Let me explain something, tho. I'm still learning with my copics. This is just me messing around with my new markers and a brand new, adorable stamp that I ripped out of its package as soon as it got here. Should I decide to use this stamp on my Christmas cards (and really, what could top this?), you'll be seeing a much better version. Well, hopefully. But you can trust me when I say, Stickles will be used. Oh, yeah.

Stamps: Lily & Tweet (Pink Cat Studio), Holiday Treats (Papertrey), Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chocolate Chip (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Bashful Blue & Chocolate Chip (SU!), Accessories: oval punches (SU!), Copics

Thank You, Darling!

Yep, that's Lily hiding behind that big dress-up hat, boa & those glasses. The image is cute, but it was the sentiment that pushed me over the edge. So, um, darling! Currently, there are only 2 Lily sets, and I will get the other one as soon as I can. But I am pleading for more! I think I may be obsessed with this little girl. If you're not sure, wait until you see my next card. That one uses my favorite Lily stamp...so far. Ok, enough gushing. Oh yeah, not that it's unusual for me, but I kept this one extra simple, cuz I think her outfit gives you plenty to look (and laugh) at.

Stamps: Lily & Tweet (Pink Cat Studio), Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Paper: Papertrey white, Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Accessories: EE ribbon (SU!), Copics, and even tho you can't see them: Sakura Glaze pen (on her glasses), Stickles (on her rock & ears), Perfect Pearls (necklace)

It's Lily

Hey there! I know, I'm such a naughty blogger. I'm sorry, but I've been really busy lately and I haven't had time to post. Ok, well, I knew I was going to be busy and I could have written something incredibly witty and set it to post at a later time while I was busy (I love that blogger has that feature now!), but I didn't have any projects that were blogworthy. And this one is just ok, in my opinion, but I had to post it cuz that Lily is just so darn cute! See, this card is what happens when I experiment. When I start to test out unfamiliar territory. First of all, I'm coloring! It's just as much fun as, if not more than, when I was 8. These are my copics and, unfortunately, I love them and want more. If you've paid for these, you know why that's a bad thing. But I love them, I do. And I love Lily, too. Pink Cat definitely needs to make more of these. And second, when was the last time you saw me use Apricot Appeal? Mmmhmm. I don't think it's the color I mind, but just the whole thing put together. I mounted Lily onto Apricot Appeal cardstock, and added the white dots with my pen. Then I thought, oooh! I have that same color DSP. I'm not sure what thought I had that made it ok to use the same exact patterned paper under my circles, but there it is. So, next time, I'm hoping to be thinking a bit more clearly when I put something together. Fingers crossed, people.

Stamps: Lily & Tweet (Pink Cat Studio), Simple Little Things (Papertrey), Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Paper: Papertrey white, Apricot Appeal CS & DSP (SU!), Accessories: Marvy punches, Copics, Inkssentials White pen

Happy Birthday Stephanie

*ahem*

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Stephanieeeee,

Happy Birthday to you!

Alrighty then. Her real present is that I'm not actually singing to her in person. Anyone who's heard me sing is grateful for that one. You're welcome! Anyway, I just wanted to say that this Martha Stewart butterfly punch kicks butt! I've seen people do this with that same punch and I wanted to do it too. It's not a new technique and you can layer any punch, but it's just different with the butterfly. I guess cuz you don't think of flowers flying away, but those butterfies look (to me, anyway) like they're gonna float right off the card. So, thanks to all you enablers out there that made me "just have to have it"! And believe it or not, all the pinks (except the dew drops) are the same color. They're all Papertrey's Sweet Blush, but that ribbon is reeaallly pink. Oh, well. Happy Birthday, Stephanie. Hope your day Rocks!

Stamps: Birthday Basics (Papertrey), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Sweet Blush, Pink Patterns and white (all Papertrey), Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Martha Stewart buttlerfly punch, Orchid Dew Drops (Robin's Nest), Sweet Blush twill ribbon (Papertrey)

Happy Birthday Ms. R!

Alrighty, here we are. No, Stephanie, this is not your card. It's not Thursday yet. This goes to someone else that my girls loooove (ok, me too) and I thought they were gonna veto it, cuz it's pink and it's not going to a little girl. She's not a pink & frilly, foo-foo kinda girl, but that's just the direction my Elzybells stamp took me. When I went to ask what the girls thought, Darien saw the back of the pink card & said, "No, because it's pink". But then she saw the front, and changed her mind. It sounds snotty (as teenagers sometimes do) written down, but she's really just protective of our beloved Ms. R and wanted it to be just right. She's even getting out of bed early to go to the elementary school to personally give it to her. Now that's love. Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!

Stamps: Birthday Girl (Elzybells), Mixed Messages & Piece of Cake (Papertrey), Ink: Pretty in Pink (SU!), Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Papertrey white, Pretty in Pink (SU!), Accessories: copics, watercolor pencils, Hodgepodge Hardware (SU!), Sweet Blush twill ribbon (Papertrey), Cotton Candy & Baby Blue Stickles, Doodlebug brads, corner rounder punch

Happy Mother's Day

Hello, kids. K, first off, I just want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day (now that it's over!). I hope everyone was spoiled rotten today, since that's how it's supposed to be. The other 364 days of the year, it can be a thankless job, I know. But today, somebody appreciates you. Now, the reason there's no card up there is because this is what my desk looked like for a couple of days. Yes, friends, I have jumped on the unmounted bandwagon. Why? I was running out of room! I'd show you my cabinet pictures, but I only have before ones and what fun would that be? When I take some after ones, maybe I'll put them up. But this is what all of my stamps look like unmounted. The CD cases in front are my stamps off of blocks. Some cases have more than one set in them, cuz the sets are soooo small. Believe it or not, all the blocks and empty SU! cases you see are not even all that I have. I had about another 10 cases on my other desk and blocks everywhere. Tia thought the blocks were big fun and had stacked them all over the house. But what she failed to realize was that she couldn't just set them down any old where, cuz one side of almost every block was super sticky from the glue. Man, I had sticky spots in my carpet, on my table and on our ledge. The ones on my desks I did myself. My bad. So, basically, I made tons more space (more stamps!) and I can see everything I have, cuz I reorganized the whole area. *sigh* Feels so much better. Oh, so that means I have been working on some things, but my lone finished project I can't post now, cuz it's Stephanie's birthday card, and she's going to have to wait to see it. But I can say, it's one of my favorite cards that I've done in a while. So cool. Ha! That oughtta drive her nutty til Thursday! Sorry, Stephanie. I love ya, but you've gotta wait.

Have an awesome week, everybody! As soon as I have something to post that's not top secret, I'll let you know.

Mess: my desk, courtesy of me

Oh, Boy

Ok, I'm just gonna come out & say it. Baby cards are not my thing. I was just talking about this with my mom on the phone. Don't get me wrong - I love kids, and babies are just the best. Ooh, that baby smell...no, Tiara, not the smell of poo, but thanks for your input. So, it's not that I don't like making baby cards, I just don't do it that often, and when I do, I get stuck. And then I tend to get all obvious about it. Can you tell it's for a boy? Yeah, a teacher at our school had his first baby boy last week. Well, the teacher didn't have the baby, his wife did, but you know what I'm saying. So, this is my attempt. I think it's sweet...it certainly says baby. Plus, I've always wanted to use my button brads, but they haven't really fit on anything else. Woohoo! Bonus.

Stamps: So Many Scallops (SU!), Ink: Bashful Blue, Paper: Papertrey white, Bashful Blue CS & Bashful Blue DSP (SU!), Accessories: Scallop punch, white ribbon (SU!), button brads from somewhere, I dunno

Happy 50th

Hey there! Ok, first, Happy May. We're getting closer & closer to the end of allergy season, which just can't come fast enough for me. Blecchh! I wanna breathe! Although, it's funny - yesterday I spent hours outside for the MS Walk (thanks to everybody for their support! We all had lots of fun) and I don't believe my allergies bothered me one time. And it was at a park (outside!) with grass & trees & nature & stuff. So strange.

Now, on to the card. I wasn't trying to copy the wacky success that was my last black & white card, honest! You people love the funniest things. No, this card had a theme that I was trying to follow. I found out on Friday that the staff at our elementary school is throwing a surprise birthday celebration for one of our teachers who's turning 50. Wow, I sure hope Mr. S. doesn't read my blog. Anyway, they're doing the whole "gotta wear black" thing and they're getting him presents like prunes & Geritol (do they still make that?) & stuff like that. Well, I look at this guy and think, it's not like he's got one foot in the grave or anything. He's pretty youthful and cool, in my opinion. So, I followed the black rule, but tried to make it as fun & not depressing as possible. 50 is so not what it used to be.

Oh, I just wanted to point out that no, I did not stamp all those "happy birthdays" individually, cuz that's what Tia thought I did. Geez, how sad would my life be if I got to that point? All those background "happy birthdays" are all Papertrey stamps that I placed together on 1 acrylic block and stamped them 6 times. Easy peasy. I'm sure most of you figured that one out, but thought I'd throw that one out there for all the 8 year olds reading today. And don't worry, my next card should have some color. I'm thinking, blue.

Stamps: Birthday Basics (Papertrey), Birthday Candles (Hero Arts), Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Paper: Papertrey white, Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Clear embossing powder (SU!), Doodlebug brads, Sakura glaze pen (over black flames)