Free shipping on all Stampin'Up! products from April 6-10

Hello friends! Hope you had a nice weekend! What better way to start of the week than a free shipping perk from Stampin'Up! Have you been eyeing some goodies from the Occasions catalog?  Well, I would say that now is a great time to get it!  Plus, with no minimum order for this Free Shipping Deal, it doesn't matter if you get one thing or get a bunch, shipping is on the house!

A quick recap from our weekend - we had a very nice Easter at the Diehl house!  Little man painted eggs for the first time.  I loved watching his reaction as he turned each white egg into a colorful masterpiece. His expressions were truly priceless.

How about you all? Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Would love to hear from you! Sending you all Easter blessings from our little family.

Thanks for visiting today. Catch up with you all soon. Bye for now!

This Week's Stampin'Up! Weekly Deals {Mar 3}

Hi all! Happy Tuesday.  Hope you all are having a great week! Are you ready for this week's weekly deals?  Well, St. Patrick's Day and Easter are right around the corner, and this week, there are some great deals for crafting something cute for these upcoming holidays! Take a look...

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Lots of packaging options are on sale! I'm especially eyeing the Filter Paper and the Sweet Treat cups, myself!  I saw the cutest little egg favors on Pinterest using the treat cups.  You can check them out here on Paper Ecstasy's blog. They are the cutest little eggs that I think you'll want to make them, too!

Thanks for coming by today. Have a great one! Bye for now.

Retiring stamp sets...

Hi there, dear bloggie friends!  Hope you all are doing well.  Can you believe it's already that time of year to take one last look at the retiring stamp list? If you're thinking that it seems earlier than usual, well, you're right!  Stampin'Up! is in a transitional catalog year where we'll be starting the new catalog in JUNE! This year, there are lots of stamps that we'll be saying good bye to, so be sure to take a good scan of the list to make sure you don't miss one!  You only have until May 31st to take the plunge to scoop up your faves before they're gone!  You can check out the full list here.  You can also shop 24/7 at my online store.  Don't you fret too much about the retiring list, though - it just means that there's going to be that much more NEW stamps to feast your eyes on soon.  I am personally looking forward to that!

Meanwhile, I did want to do a quick recap of Easter - how was yours?  Hope you all had a great one!  It was especially fun this year with our little guy.  He's at such a fun stage!  He's on the brink of walking, so he just loves taking your hand to go go go!  Here's a quick 8"x8" page layout I created in MDS using the Eggceptional Easter digital download {I did switch up the colors to this layout just a bit!}:

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Catch up with you guys soon! :)

Happy Easter!

Hi there blog friends!  Hope you had a very Happy Easter!  Just wanted to pop in with a quick share of our Easter celebration  After attending mass this morning at our church with my parents, we met up with our friends for brunch.  It was a great time had by all!  And I am still stuffed!  I put together this quick layout using My Digital Studio - so fun!  With the new camera and all, I am more excited about getting into digital scrapbooking!  These are just a few photos, but we ended up taking a bunch throughout the day.

Hope you like these! 

Happy Easter!!!

200,000 Hits Winner!

Hi all!  Happy Friday!  Hope you all had a great week.  The days seem to be speeding fast for me!  Are you guys ready to find out who the lucky winner of the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder is?  It's time!!!  I had fun reading your comments about your favorite spring flowers and it looks like Tulips and Daffodils were quite the popular pics.  I really love those flowers, too.  I think Spring is just filled with beautiful, bright and cheery flowers, so you really can't go wrong at all!  Anyway, how about we find out the winner?  This lucky girl is....

Lucky number

33

who happens to be

Eseniya

who left this fun comment!!!:

Did you get that?  In case you need a translation, here's what she said:

Isn't that so cool!  I'm so glad my international visitors play along!  I also love that there are tools on the internet that can help translate :)  It makes communicating with friends around the world so much easier!! Eseniya - I will be leaving you a note on your blog to let you know you won!

Thank you all for playing!  Hope you fantastic weekend.  And, for those of you that celebrate Easter..

Wish you all a WONDERFUL EASTER CELEBRATION!! : )

As always, I appreciate you guys coming by for a visit to my corner of the world.  Ciao for now!

Easter Gifts Challenge for HSS63!

Hello blog friends!  How are you all?  I know it's been a few days since I've last posted and I really am still around...it's just a tad bit hectic.  You know that saying "when it rains, it pours"?  Well, I'm getting quite a dose of it at the moment, and alas, it has not left me with much time to stamp!  So, you'll have to forgive me if my postings are a bit sparse this upcoming month.  With lots of deadlines and moving parts on the work front, I'm having to make some sacrifices on my time posting to the bloggie blog.  Anywhooo.....how about some fun with this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge?  The theme is Easter, so what a perfect time to finish up those cards and gifts for friends and family, AND play along in a challenge, too?!  Here's a look at the project I made...a couple of fun and easy Pillow Box favors with a bit of a vintage flair...

What do you think?  I really do love the pillow box die - so versatile!  I think the die works great on DSP as well as solid cardstock - you can whip up a quick little gift in a jiff with these.  I used the Springtime Vintage DSP and the pretty sentiment from the Easter Blooms stamp set.  Hope you like it!  Here's one more picture for you so you can see the upright and horizontal versions I made of these pillow boxes - either way, they make a pretty presentation!

Hope you like them.  I would love for you guys to play along with us!  Make like a bunny and "hop" over to the Hand Stamped Sentiments blog to check out more inspiration and get you psyched up to create your fun Easter Themed project!  Have a fab day!

Fun new projects at Craft Project Central!

Hi all!  How are you guys doing? I'm working from home today, so I thought I'd pop in fo a quick post before getting my day started.  I've got some sneak peeks of 3 cute projects over at Craft Project Central.

First up is an adorable Flower Pot project created by Erika

Such a cute project to brighten your day!

For the chefs out there, how about a yummy recipe for Bread Pudding, compliments of Shelby:

She used the pretty Bliss set from the Sale-a-bration products that you can get for free when you buy $50 worth of Stampin'Up! goodies....time is running out though - this promotion ends on Thurs, March 31st!

And, to get you all ready for Easter, how about this pretty banner from Joanna:

These 3 projects are all available in the March issue at Craft Project Central.  If you'd like to subscribe, you can head over and check out the deets here.

Well friends, that's all for now.  Hope you guys have a fantastic day and I'll catch up with you in a little bit!  Toodles!

2 new projects at Craft Project Central!

Hello there blog friends - I'm back with a quick little post.  Wanted to let you know that there are 2 fun new projects over at Craft Project Central.  Here's a look at the latest additions to the March subscription issue:

This adorable octagonal treat box holder and Easter card are lovely creations by Kim.

And, my dear friend, Sharon Field, created this fun set of Recipe cards and Easel card - bon appetit! 

You can subscribe to Craft Project Central by visiting the site here.  Enjoy!

PS - it's still pouring over here!  No sunny California day today. :(

{Workshop} cards!

Good morning all! It sure is a dreary day here in Southern California.  Rainy and windy this morning.  Definitely an inside day, for sure {brrrr!}.  For today, I've got a couple of card shares from the workshop I did yesterday for my friend Kaye and her group of stamping friends.  It was a fun afternoon of stamping!  We made an Easter card and a Birthday card from stamp sets in the Occasions Mini catalog.  Here's a closer look at each card for you:

For the Easter card, I used the Easter Blossoms stamp set and stamped the branch in Regal Rose and the sentiment in Pear Pizzazz.  If you look closely, you'll see that there's a touch of shimmer on the flowers - that's from the Smooch Pearlized ink.  So subtle and pretty!  All you need to do is dab on a bit on the petals and it adds a bit of glimmer and dimension to the flowers.  And, of course, the Framed Tulips embossing folder adds a nice touch of dressing up the card.  Super easy peasy!

For this card, I used the Nature Walk stamp set and went with a neutral color palette so that the Birthday card can be used for a masculine card as well.  I stamped the bird image in Early Espresso, then added color using a sponge dauber to fill the bird in.  All you need to do is dab the sponge dauber in Crumb Cake ink and apply the color to the bird in a circular motion, starting in the middle of the image and working your way out.  Then, I lightly shaded around the bird's feet with the dauber to give a little bit of a shadow on the ground.  Hope you like these!  These are 2 nice and simple cards that you can whip up in a jiff!  Here's the recipe for you.

{Happy Easter Blossoms}

*Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms

*Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Regal Rose, Whisper White

*Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Regal Rose

*Accessories: Basic Pearls, Smooch Pearlized Ink, Itty Bitty Punches, Pretty In Pink Taffeta ribbon, Framed Tulips Embossing folder, Stampin' Dimensionals

{Nature Walk Birthday Wishes}

*Stamp Set: Nature Walk, Occasional Quotes

*Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Botanical Gazette

*Inks: Early Espresso Classic Ink Pad and Marker {for the eye}, Crumb Cake

*Acccessories: Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Corner Rounder, Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals

Hope you all have a fantastic day!  Thanks for popping by!

New Petal Cone Project on Craft Project Central!

Hey there blog friends!  I wanted to pop in today with a new project  by Nelia that's available on Craft Project Central.  How cute is this basket made using the Petal Cone Die?!

This adorable creation is one of the projects available in the March Issue at Craft Project Central.  Hop over to find out more or subscribe!



spring is in the {AIR!} at HSS Challenge 59

Hello there bloggie friends!  I'm happy to say I have gotten over my little sick spell and I am finally back to normal - YAY!  It's so not fun being sick.  AND, I've also discovered that it's definitely much more fun to craft when you're in good spirits!  So, with that in mind, how about we take a peek at this week's challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments, shall we?  You got a peek at my card above, now let me show you this week's inspiration photo:

Doesn't this collage just conjure up all things SPRING and pretty?  I think so!  It's chock full of happy and bright images of this beautiful season. {Plus - can I get a woot woot for the LONGER DAYS?!} As you can probably gather, I got some of my card inspiration from the eggs and the green and yellows found throughout the photos.  Here's a look at my full card:

What do you think?  Hope you like it!  I used the pretty decorative eggs from the Easter Blossoms stamp set, which I am really growing fond of!  The eggs look lovely and delicate in these soft pastel colors.  I added just the teeniest of embellies - the tiny pearls from the Basic Pearls pack.  So sweet!  And, my new fave stamp set is the Four Frames stamp set, which I'm previewing here...it's a set of frames that coordinate with the decorative labels punch.  Yummy!  If you're a fan of the decorative label punch, then I think you'll absolutely LOVE it :)  Here's the recipe for you:

{Springtime Eggcitement}

*Stamp Sets: Easter Blossom, Four Frames

*Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

*Inks: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight

*Accessories: Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Decorative Label Punch, Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Itty Bitty Punches, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, Stampin'Dimensionals

Now that you got your dose of spring, I hope you'll come and play along with us.  Pop on over to Hand Stamped Sentiments to get some more inspiration from the DT and get your creative juices flowing!  I really do love seeing all the submissions...hope yours is one of them :)

Have a fabbie day, dear friends.  I'll catch you guys later!

Hand Stamped Sentiments Ribbons and Lace Challenge!

Hi blog friends!  Are you ready?  I was so excited about this week's challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  It's a ribbons and lace challenge...and I love me the ribbons, so this was lots of fun. 

As you can see, this is the 2nd of of my square crumb cake cards this week, too. {I love this 4 1/4" square sized card!} I also got to play around with a new technique (for me, that is). It's making the layered rosette flower out of scallop circles.  For a first flower, I'd say I'm still in my experimental phase since I think my flower shaping skills have definite room for improvement, but I think I've learned some tricks about putting one together.  First of all, I punched eight 2 3/8" scallop circles to create the flower.  Then another key trick is to use a hot glue gun to nest the petal layers together.  Once I have it down to making these rosettes how I like it, I may put together a tutorial for you...we'll have to see :)  Here's one more look at the card for you:

I used the Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon to create the rouching.  I have to say that seam binding is such a DREAM to work with! Not only does it stay nicely on the sticky strip, but it really is super easy to put into place, too.  And for my lace, I used the pretty Victoria Crochet Trim.  I think the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder makes the perfect background for that shabby chic look, which I am such a fan of these days.  How about the recipe for you?

{Ribbons and Lace Easter Wishes}

*Stamp Set: Something to Celebrate {Occasions Mini Hostess Set}

*Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Subtles Patterns DSP {In Pretty In Pink}, Pear Pizzazz

*Inks: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

*Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Paper, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Blossom Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Basic Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, dimensionals, sticky strip, hot glue gun

Hope you liked this project...now how about heading over to Hand Stamped Sentiments and playing along with us this week?  Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Easter Wishes Paper Crafters Sampler {Blog Hop}!

Hi all!  If you've come across my blog from the Paper Crafters Sampler blog hop, you must have just visited

Vicki Burdick's blog and saw her gorgeous project.  If you've just come for a visit, I definitely encourage you to hop on and check out what the Design Team has created and you can also check out some sneak peek's of February's issue.  We're using this beautiful Easter Cross template in this blog hop, designed by the talented Melanie Schulenberg, and the cool thing is, you'll have the template available to you as part of the issue if you'd like to subscribe.  Now here's a look at the cross I made:

I used the pretty daisies from the Blossom Party Originals die to decorate my cross and then used the sentiment from the Something to Celebrate Hostess stamp set from the Occasions Mini.  Here's a close up look at the flowers for you: 

Before you go, here's a sneak peek of my Easter Wishes project in the February issue:

Let's say it's very egg-citing! {hee!}  You can visit the Paper Crafters Sampler site to subscribe to this month's issue!  It's chockful of wonderful Easter Ideas for you.

I hope you've enjoyed my Easter Cross Box and sneak peek.  If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out Vicki’s blog just before me or head on over to visit the next stop on the hop – Kelly Campbell’s!

Thanks for popping by! 

My favorite cards from 2010

Hi all!  As we reflect back on 2010, I thought I'd share my favorite cards and projects from this year with you:

Hope you enjoyed the look back!  Thanks again to each of you for visiting and letting me share a part of my world with you.  Wish you all a very happy New Year!