Happy Halloween!

Here's a little Halloween card I created on MDS - just something quick and simple to share with you guys today.

Hope you have a great Halloween!

A Woot Woot for Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger

Hey there again! Yay - I got to participate in a challenge this week afterall. What a Hoot it was, too {heehee!}. This week, the inspiration came from this cute pillow that was submitted by Courtney Baker for Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger Challenge.
And here's a look at my full card that was "triggered" by this pillow inspiration: Whaddya think? I realized while making this card that I don't use chipboard as often as I should. It's such a nice medium to work with! These fun chipboard pieces are from the Stampin'Up! On Board So Tweet chipboard pack. Cute, huh? Here's the recipe:

{Owl Trigger Card}
All supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted
*Cardstock: SU! Basic Gray Textured cardstock
*Inks: SU! Whisper White and Gable Green Craft Ink Pads
*Stamp Sets: Scattered Showers {PTI}, Background Basics Retro {PTI}
*Accessories: On Board So Tweet Chipboard, Button Latte buttons, Kiwi Kiss Corduroy buttons.

Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by!

Freebie Friday Joy!

Hi guys! Happy Friday to you! Did you notice I changed up my blog look today? I know there's still a day left before Halloween, but I was getting antsy for something new....maybe because I'm getting ready for something new come Monday {with the new job and all}. I'll have a festive Halloween post tomorrow though, so don't you worry :)

Today, I'm enjoying a little bit of R&R, and hence I'm filled with JOY! Which, coincidently inspired my Freebie Friday giveaway this week. Here's a slightly bigger look at the Joy Banner giveaway. You can click on the picture to check out a bigger view. It's so fun and so easy to make, especially with the handy dandy Big Shot. I used the Sizzix Clear Scallop Square Bigz die and the Serif Alphabet Bigz Die, with a touch of Christmas Cocoa DSP, Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, and some rope. Viola! Hope you like it!

So all you have to do to play is leave me a comment on this post with either your blog URL or email address so I can contact you. You have until Sunday, November 1st at Midnight Pacific Time. By the way, isn't that cool we gain an hour this weekend? Yay! The bummer is that it gets darker so much earlier now. Oh well, part of the change of season. Anyway, back to the comments for the post - you can comment on anything OR you can tell me about what you have planned for this weekend. Ours, believe it or not is pretty low key. We have about 5-10 trick or treaters come to our house for Halloween. A big part of that is because we live on a hill and there's only houses on one side of the street, so it's not the most bang for your buck street to trick or treat. Most of the kids in the neighborhood go a couple blocks away to the flat street, where I've heard there are quite a few trick or treaters. But, we still buy candy anyway for the few kids that do come by. Can't wait to hear about your weekend festivities. Have a great one!

Deal of the Week - Week 4

Hi there blog peeps! How are you doing? I've been a little quiet the last few days because I've been wrapping up my work week...today is my last day at my current job, then I get a break for a couple days before I start the new one on Monday. Whew! So, here I am, squeezing in a post this morning before I head in to the office.

I wanted to share this week's Deals of the Week, which are perfect for a pirate or princess themed party. You can make invites and favors/decorations with these great kits! Here are the details:



These deals are available now through October 31st. You can shop online at my Demonstrator Website anytime!

I'll catch you guys later. Have a great day!

Freebie Friday Winner announcement!

Morning all and Happy Monday to you! Hope you guys had a great weekend. We had a great time here, and as always, it felt like it was too short. As they say, time flies when you're having fun {ain't that the truth!}.

Let's get going and kick off the week with the winner of the Favorite Things Notebook. Ready? The winner is.... Lucky number 1, who is... ~amy~!!! Congrats, Amy! I'll drop you a note so you can send me your info. Thanks all for playing another week. Come back on Friday for another round! In the meantime, hope you have a fantastic day :)

Bye for now!

Halloween Matchbook Treat

Hey there blog friends! Here's another treat idea I put together today using the Sweet Centers stamp set - it looks very similar to the Halloween Treat I created with the Treat Cups at my last workshop, but this one is actually a matchbook. It's also my second submission for the PPA13 challenge - the Anything BUT a CARD one! Here's a look at the inside. I used a 3" x 5" cello bag for the candy and put it inside, and secured that and the ribbon with a staple. After tying the ribbon, you don't see the staple at all, see below.
Here's a look at the finished product with the flap open. Nice and simple treat, as an alternative to the treat cups. This is a great little project for mass production, since it's so easy to put together! Hope you like it!

Halloween Bat Crafts With My Nieces

What a fun day today's been. My nieces and sister-in-law are visiting this weekend and we had quite the fun filled Saturday! The day started off with some Halloween crafting. My cute little nieces, Marina and Sasha, saw the bat I created and they both immediately told me they wanted to make their own! So here are their bat creations. Sasha, on the left, named her bat Hangy and Marina named her bat Flutter.
Here they are with our small army of bats after our crafting session. I thought they both did a fantastic job!
And here's a look at all the bat pieces {except the feet, which were not available at the time of this photo. They were punched afterwards from the Jumbo Snowflake punch}. Tip for the ears: Use the large Photo Corner piece and fold it in half. Then, you want to use a glue dot or a quick dry glue and fold the corners over each other to form a cup shape. If my nieces can do it, so can you!

After our bat making morning, we went ice skating at the rink at our local mall. That was fun and cool, considering it was a nice and reasonably warm day {78 degrees}. Thankfully, I didn't fall on my rear.

Hope you enjoyed this little weekend segment. Up next is another Halloween treat I created...stay tuned!

Anything BUT a card PPA13 Challenge

I am such a sucker for challenges! I saw this Anything BUT a Card challenge at Pals Paper Arts and I had to play. I've had this Halloween Bat idea in my head ever since I created my little pumpkin from last week, but just haven't had time to actually create it. So, tonight, I played and created. Now, I'd like to introduce... my Batty Bat made out of the Scallop Bag die. Isn't he a cute round little guy? I was struggling with how to create his ears, and finally, a lightbulb came on and I reached for my Photo Corners punch. I took the larger of the photo corners and then folded then ends in, overlapping each other so that the top crease created a "cupped" shaped ear. Here's a side view look below.
For his wings, I went with the Clear Circle Bigz die. Then I folded it in half and ran it through the Clear Scallop Square die to create the "reverse" scallop for his wings. The scallop circle for his body is the larger scallop circle on the Scallop Circle #2 die and his bat feet are made out of the Jumbo Snowflake punch. Hope you like this little fella. I was thinking of doing a tutorial, for this, though since this is my first "concept" bat, I didn't have the foresight to take pictures. They'll come soon :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good one!

Freebie Friday Favorite Notebook Giveaway

Happy Friday to you all! Did this week just whiz by for you like it did for me? It's been busy busy busy all week long for me, so I'm glad the weekend is almost here to take a quick breath and relax a bit. WooHoo! So, are you ready for this week's Freebie Friday giveaway? I'm back on my notebook kick - this week, it's a Favorite Things notebook {coincidently, the stamp I used is from the Favorite Things set}. These really are so much fun to make! Can you tell I also am in love with using buttons? I used the Sweet Always DSP, which is retired, but I loved the paper so much that I hoarded a bunch when it was available. It's such a fun color scheme. I used the Scallops #2 die to create the flower, and the Pennant die to create the scallop center. Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but I did emboss the flower with the Small Dots Texturz plates. For the finishing touches, I added a few buttons from my PTI stash. Love them! For the inside of my notebook, I covered the top strip of my notepad with the DSP and Regal Rose cardstock. So, how do you like it? I hope you do!

Ready to play? All you need to do is leave me a comment with either your email address or blog URL {essentially, leave me enough info to contact you} on this post by midnight Pacific Time on Sunday, October 25th. You can leave me a comment about anything, or you can tell me what your favorite subject was in school. My favorite was math for the most part, then I have to say I enjoyed the sciences in high school and college. I admit, I was quite the nerd! So, now it's your turn to share with me. Look forward to reading your comments!

I'll announce the winner on my blog on Monday, so make sure to stop by then to see if you won! Thanks for stopping by and visiting. Have a great day!

Balloon Candy

Hi there blog friends! Today I've got a quick share of a birthday card I created for my Dad last month but haven't had a chance to share. It's not super masculine {just imagine it without the pink background}, but he did like the candy, and of course, it was also from me {smile}. I used the Sweet Centers stamp set and Treat Cups. I was still experimenting with different ways to release the candy, and I've confirmed that the trap door works best. It's on the inside cover, so you can't tell from the front of the card. But the good thing is, you can access the candy and still preserve the integrity of the card! So here's the recipe:

{Balloon Candy}
All supplies Stampin'Up!
*Stamp Set: Sweet Centers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Kraft
*Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Dusty Durango
*Accessories: Sweet Treat Cups, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Button Latte button, Linen Thread, Modern Label punch, Trio Flower punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, brads, dimensionals

On a personal note, I wanted to tell you guys that things have been busy for me behind the scenes because I'll be starting a new job soon! I'm very excited about it. I'll be doing sales operations for a healthcare company, so I'm looking forward to being back in my realm of expertise. I'll have to figure out my work schedule and carve out time for blogging and crafting, so thanks in advance for understanding if my posting becomes a little erratic in the next few weeks. I'll try and blog when I can, but I'm sure I'll need to make some adjustments with scheduling and what not. I'll keep you guys posted!

Hope you have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

MDS revisited and some more pics from Sonoma

I've been meaning to share my Sonoma photos online and I really did want to have it all done in MDS, but alas, I'm not quite done with my album. So instead, I'm sharing the front cover with you, which I did create in MDS :) This cover shot is a picture we took from the Ferrari-Carano Vineyard in Sonoma. They really do have beautiful grounds there, plus of course, a fantastic view of the vineyards in the background. You can click on the photo to get a bigger view. Here are some more snapshots from our Sonoma weekend... This is the darling B&B where we stayed in Healdsburg, CA. It's a historical building called the George Alexander house and it was absolutely adorable. The caretakers, Mel and Holly were awesome and they made us great breakfasts!
Here are some vines from Joseph Swan Vineyard. It was harvest time, so most vineyards had there grapes ready to go (and lucky for us, we snuck a few samplings here and there! The wine grapes were delish!).
Isn't the view from here gorgeous? This is at A Rafanelli. They had some great reds. Believe it or not, we got a Merlot here which was a blend of cab and other reds. Good stuff here.
This little piggie was just too adorable, I had to take it's picture. This is from the Rued vineyard and we bought quite a bit here. The 2004 Zins are awesome.
Here we are with our friends, Jeff and E at my hubby's birthday dinner at Zin. The restaurant was walking distance from our B&b, right in the heart of Healdsburg. Doesn't the food look great? I think we all enjoyed our dinners!
And of course, here is my cutie hubby, having his birthday treat. We all shared this scrumptuous dessert and it really was sooooo good. Yum.

So, that's a quick little view of our trip. I have tons of pics, and maybe once my album is in order, I'll share more pages from there. Hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek!

Deals of the Week - Week 3!

Here's the latest and greatest for this week's Deals of the Week: It's all about accessories and embellishments! You can SHOP NOW at my website! Just click shop now in the upper right hand corner. Have fun!

Freebie Friday Winner Time!

Morning all! Ready to start another week? I got a good night's sleep yesterday, so I'm feeling energized today and am even going to get my run on after I write this post. I'm excited about that, because I've been neglecting my running and am really starting to feel the lack of exercise. It's a nice and brisk morning here, which is my favorite kind of weather to run in. So, let's get to our lucky Freebie Friday winner, shall we? This week, the winner of the Jack-o-lantern Freebie is.. Lucky number 7, who is Nicole Black! Congrats, Nicole! Thank you all for playing in another week of Freebie Friday.

I'll be back later with more to share. In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic day!

Hi!

Hello there blog peeps! Happy Sunday. Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I certainly am! It feels good to be able to decompress from a busy work week! Anyway, in my blurfing this morning, I was so excited to see that the Embellish Magazine Circle card challenge extended their submission date, so I got to play in it afterall! I've had this idea in mind, but haven't had a chance to put it down on paper til today. You know how that goes, right? Sometimes, you have the best intentions to get to something, and before you know it, days have passed. Here's a look at the card I created: Can you believe I created a non-holiday card!? I know, huh. The challenge colors gave me the inspiration to create this hot air balloon card, so yes, non holiday themed it is! I'm having fun using the Bigz Clear Circle die - I used that to create my card base. Then I used the 1 3/4" circle punches to create my balloon. All you need to do is punch out 3 circles, fold them in half and stack the half circles in alternating patterns, adhering the half circle sides, then open it up and voila - you have your 3D balloon! I went into my retired stash of Designer Series Paper - it's the SU! Spring Break DSP from last year. I love this print! The letters I used are from the SU! Billboard Alphabet Sizzlit Decorative Strip - they're a great size for little card sentiments. Hope you like it! Here's the recipe:

{Sweet Centers Balloon Circle Card}
All supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted
*Stamp Set: Sweet Centers
*Cardstock: Soft Sky {retired}, Spring Break {retired}, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
*Inks: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad, Whisper White Craft pad
*Dies: Billboard Alphabet Decorative Sizzlit Strip, Clear Circle Bigz die
*Accessories: Scallop oval (masking for the clouds), Certainly Celery striped ribbon, Aqua Mist Button {PTI}

Enjoy your day!!

Stamping 411 Challenge

Hey there! Happy Saturday to you all! Remember I said it was rainy earlier this week? Well, today it's back up to the high 80's! Crazy weather here. The sun is up, the sky is a beautiful blue with some billowy clouds, and the ocean looks awesome, AND I got to stamp, so I really can't complain! For today's card share, I eeked in some stamping time this morning to create a card for the Stamping 411 challenge. It's my first time to participate, so I was excited to give it a whirl. Here's the sketch - SSC121: This is another great layout with clean lines. I also love that the sketch itself was created in MDS - how fun is that! While I should be making more Halloween and Thanksgiving cards, I was inspired to create a Christmas card. Here's what I came up with: I've been using the Ornament punch and Delightful Decorations so much, that I had kind of forgotten about this fun set of cute ornaments from the Tree Trimming stamp set. Aren't these 2 ornaments cute? I dressed them up a little with the half pearls from the Pretties kit. I also used the Christmas Punch hostess set for my sentiment. Do you like the glittered tag I created? It's from the sizzlits called Lots of Tags. Fun, huh? Here's the complete recipe.

{Christmas Tree Trimmings}
All supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted
*Stamp Sets: Tree Trimmings, Christmas Punch
*Cardstock: Bashful Blue Textured, Whisper White, Real Red
*Inks: Real Red Classic Ink Pad, River Rock {retired} Classic Ink Pad, Whisper White Craft pad
*Accessories: Lots of Tags sizzlit, Linen Thread, Wide Oval punch, Real Red Grosgrain polka dot ribbon, Pretties kit, Button {PTI}, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder

Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping in today!

Freebie Friday Jack-o-lantern!

Happy Friday, blog friends! How are you? I know it's been a few days since I last posted - this week has been pretty busy for me! I'll share more later, but for now, let's talk about this week's Freebie! How do you like my little pumpkin? He's completely made out of punches and dies. The "body core" is made out of the Fancy Favor box and his "body exterior" is made out of the Clear Circle Big Shot die (3 circles for the front and 3 for the back). His face is from the photo corners punch and his stem is from the designer label punch. Isn't he a cutie? Here's a look at him from the side view: I used the jumbo eyelets to reinforce the handle. This is a great Halloween project and lots of fun to make, too!

Now are you guys ready to play? All you need to do to play for this week's Halloween freebie is leave me a comment on this post, with either your email address or your blog site, by midnight Pacific Time on Sunday October 18th. You can leave me a comment about anything or you can tell me what kind of candy or treats you're giving out for Halloween. Or, if you have a favorite candy you want to share, feel free and tell us! Look forward to seeing what kind of sweet tooth you guys have. :)

Have a great day!

Patterned Pines and Polka Dots Mojo

Happy Tuesday, blog peeps! How are you guys today? Well, I think fall is finally settling in down here in Southern CA. We're actually forecasted to get some rain today. I'm actually looking forward to it - I think we definitely need some rain in my neck of the woods {justa little bit would be great}! Well, for today's card share, I've got a card I made last night for this week's Mojo monday Sketch #108. Here's a look at the sketch: I like that the sketch itself is clean and basic with big layering accents. Then I thought about using some bold colors and patterns, and went sort of non-traditional with the Christmas color scheme. You still have the red and the green, but I decided to make those the accent colors against the black trees and black polka dotted background. Don't you just love that Patterned Pines stamp set? I know I do! Here's a look at my full card: Did you notice the shimmer on my red snowflake and a smidgin of that shimmer on the trees and along the white edges? I had some fun using the Stampin'Up! Frost White and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paints {from the Holiday Mini catalog}. They're such a great new medium for me - and the add that little sparkle to a card! I used a sponge dauber to apply it and it dries pretty quickly, too! So, whaddayathink? Hope you like the card! Here's the recipe:

{Patterned Pines and Polka Dots}:
All supplies Stampin'Up!
*Stamp Sets: Patterned Pines and Delightful Decorations
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Rockabilly DSP {retired}, Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper
*Inks: Basic Black, Real Red Classic Ink pads
*Accessories: Mistletoe ribbon, Snowflake punch, Playground Designer Series buttons, linen thread; Frost White and Champagne Mist Shimmer paints applied with sponge daubers

Thanks so much for popping by today! Bye for now.

Stampin'Up! Deal of the Week #2

Hey there - just wanted to let you all know of Stampin'Up!'s Deals of the week for October. Here are the week 2 deals available until October 19th - take advantage of these great bargains on Big Shot dies!
Happy Shopping!

Delightfully Decorated...with glitter!

I'm back again today! I thought I'd share a card I made over the weekend using the Delightful Decorations stamp set. I really love this set - even more so because it coordinates perfectly with the Ornament punch AND the Stampin'Up! Holiday Windows dies that coordinate with the Movers and Shapers Sizzix Bigz XL dies. It truly is such a versatile set. I was playing around with the Holiday Windows ornament die and wanted to create something with that and the ornament punch, so this is my ensemble card. I really like the look of the kraft cardstock with the red and green, so I used it again here. How do you like it? I was also experimenting with the chunky glitter on the ornament, which I applied by using a piece of sticky strip. Once you have your sticky strip in place, just pour the glitter over it. You'll want to shake it off, run your finger over the glitter strip, gently tapping down on the glitter, then repeat with another dusting of the glitter to ensure good coverage of your sticky strip. Voila! One thing to note with the chunky glitter is that it is quite chunkier than regular glitter, so if you want a more refined look, you can experiment using regular glitter as well. For me, the chunky glitter suited the look I was going for. Here's a closer look at the details. I used the Modern Label punch to add my "Merry Christmas" sentiment. Hope you like it! Here's the recipe:

{Delightfully Decorated with Glitter}
All supplies Stampin'Up!
*Stamp Sets: Delightful Decorations, Teeny Tiny Wishes
*Cardstock: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments DSP
*Inks: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
*Dies: Holiday Windows, Curly Label Movers and Shapers
*Accessories: Button Latte, Ornament Punch, Mistletoe Ribbon, Silver Cord, Chunky Glitter, Sticky Strip tape, Modern Label Punch, Vanilla Brads, Linen Thread, Scallop Border punch

Thanks for visiting today!

Freebie Friday Winner Announcement

Good Morning! Here we are at the beginning of the week again, which means it's time to find out who the Freebie Friday Winner is! Ready? The lucky winner gets the fun Thoroughly Modern Notebook! And that winner is...
#18, who happens to be Winter! Congrats, Winter!!! I'll send you an email to get your mailing info so I can get your goodie out to you!

Thanks all for playing in another week! I can't believe we've already been playing for over 10 months! I had fun reading your comments about favorite fall foods. The majority of you also enjoy soups in the fall and chili also was in the running. Everything sounded so good! Yum. I was also intrigued reading about the fall foods that our international friends had shared, too. It's fun finding out about new foods. Some of you even said you'd share your yummy recipes! Well, if you'd like, feel free to email me and I can post a few of these here on the blog :)

Have a great one!

Tweaking my blog layout

Just wanted to make a quick post to let you guys know that if you've come and visited on Sunday night, you may have experienced some random layout formats...that's cuz I've been doing some changes on the back end to make my blog a 3 column format. After a couple of tries, I finally got it! For those of you on Blogger that have a 2 column and want to convert to 3 column, I found some great instructions here from The Cutest Blog On The Block website. They've got some great tips and tricks for bloggers! Just thought I'd share :)

The reason why I wanted to switch to a 3 column is because my 2 column blog was getting a little too right-side heavy, if you know what I mean. My actual posts in the middle column would end, but the right column would just keep going, and going...etc. You get the gist. So, hopefully this layout will work out a little better. Now, I may need to adjust my header so it fits better in it's wider space. In the meantime, I hope you keep visiting...just pardon the dust ;) Have a good night!

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge

Hi there blog peeps! Happy Saturday. Hope you're having a great day so far. Today, I'm playing in a challenge for the first time! It's the 2 Sketches 4 You Challenge and it's their Sketch #36! I'm always up for new challenges, and I really liked the sketch for this one. I have fall themes on the brain currently, so I went with a fallish, rustic inspired card. And, I have been intrigued with pinwheels, so I incorporated that as well! Here's a look at the sketch: I liked the simple lines and really, you could do so much with this layout! Here's my full card.. What do you think? Can you believe there's no stamping involved on this card? I did use sponging with an ink pad, but that's pretty much it. It's the Autumn Meadows DSP that really dressed up the card. I didn't add a sentiment yet because I'm still debating on whether to make it a Thank You card or something else, so it's an all purpose card at the moment :) Here's the recipe:

{Autumn Pinwheel Card}
All Supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted
*Cardstock: Kraft, Autumn Meadows DSP
*Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Pad
*Accessories, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip corduroy button, hemp twine, and orange and brown buttons {PTI}.

Hope you like it. Have a great day!