Pastel Gratitude Flowers

While the kids watch a little TV before they go to bed, I thought I would finally get this post up that has been waiting for me for a few days now! Then I have a feeling it is off to bed for me...starting up a workout routine apparently takes it out of you. Unfortunately my kick-butt Jillian Michaels workouts were getting harder and harder to find kid-free time for...my daughter has decided that waking up at a consistent (preferably later) time is just plain silly, so I was getting extremely frustrated with getting up really early to work out to be worried the whole time that I might not get to finish it because she would wake up. So what happens when I get frustrated about working out...I stop. So in an effort to find me some kid-free time, I decided to join a gym where they watch my kids! So here's hoping that this sticks!

Anyway, this is my final Color Challenge card...yup I manage to do them all! This is for the Moxie Fab World Pretty Pastels Color Challenge in honor of the Color Inspiration for Cardmakers special edition. My colors don't match exactly, but I got the "feel" of them with the colors I used. I cut a bunch of big scalloped circles of different sizes and crumpled them up and then tied them together with a white button brad. The big middle one was then attached to a white Lacey Circle as well. The pattern paper is from the retired Banbury collection from Stampin' Up!. The sentiment is from the Beautiful You set from Verve Stamps.

It looks like my next week will be pretty quiet here on the Blog...I will be preparing for a wonderful scrapbooking weekend with my good friends. I am hoping that I am preparing well enough ahead of time so that I can be uber productive that weekend...I feel very behind in scrapbooking since we haven't done it in awhile! But I am sure I will check in at some point! Till then, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Beautiful You (Verve Stamps); Paper - Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Pale Plum, Lavendar Lace, Whisper White, Banbury Collection (SU!); Ink - Rose Red (SU!); Accessories - Big Scalloped Circles and Lacey Circles (Spellbinders), Lacey Scallop Border Punch (SU!), White button brads (Making Memories), paper piercer, dimensionals

Welcome Baby Boy

Well I had made a baby girl card last week and really needed a baby boy card, so I went ahead and made it! I used the final Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge #4 for my layout. On my very messy desk I found half a sheet of Bo Bunny's Kitchen Spice Cinnamon patterned paper and decided to would use that for my color combo.

The cutie boy bunny is from the Practically Perfect set by Verve Stamps. I stamped him on watercolor paper and watercolored him with markers and an aquabrush. I paper pieced the bow-tie with some of the patterned paper and popped him up on my circle. The swirly border is the apron border die from the Cat's Pajamas and the brads are sparkle vanilla brads from American Crafts (I think!). The ribbon is white taffeta ribbon colored with my Early Espresso marker...cuz when you just don't have the right ribbon, you can make your own!

If you are at all interested to learn anymore about me, I was featured on the Paper Makeup Stamps Blog yesterday...you can see the post HERE. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Practically Perfect (Verve Stamps); Paper - Early Espresso (SU!), Kitchen Spice Cinnamon (BoBunny), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Early Espresso Marker, Crumb Cake Marker (SU!); Accessories - white taffeta ribbon (SU!), Vanilla Sparkle Brads (American Crafts), Apron Border Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Big Scalloped Circles, Labels 14 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), aquabrush, dimensionals

Monster Celebrations

Is it bad when you sort of enjoy when a kid gets sick? i don't mean I actually like it when he feels bad or anything like that. I just like all of the snuggles he wants more of when he is sick. He is a fairly snuggly kind of kid, but still those sick snuggles just last longer. I mean, for goodness sakes, I actually snuggled and napped with him today! Obviously I will be happy when he is feeling better, but I will miss the long snuggles until next time.

I have another Color Challenge card. This one is the Moxie Fab World Neutral Color Challenge in honor of the Color Inspirations for Cardmakers edition. The layout for the card is the 3rd Viva La Verve Sketch Challenges. I went for a masculine card here for my brother-in-law's birthday...which reminds me, I need to actually mail the card to him now! George, the monster, from Paper Makeup Stamps is actually a very environmentally friendly monster...his actual shirt has the recycle symbol on it and his flag usually reads "Go Green"...which I probably could have kept since my brother-in-law is a Michigan State fan...although that pretty much goes against my University of Michigan blood. Anyway, I inked up the stamp with a marker, so I just didn't ink up those portions of the stamp...instant customizable stamp! So I paper pieced his shirt, flag, and bottle and colored his spots with just a marker. The sentiment is from the Little Moments set from Paper Makeup Stamps. I used my new pinking die from the Cat's Pajamas to get my two stripes element from the layout.

Only one more Color Challenge to go and I will have done them all. Kinda excited about that...not really sure why exactly...maybe because I don't normally get to finish multiple challenges like that very often. Anyway, last one is done and will be showing up soon. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - George, Little Moments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Brocade Blue, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand Patterned Paper (SU!); Ink - Early Espresso Marker, Brocade Blue Marker, Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder (Provo), Pinking Edge Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Brocade Blue Brads (SU!), Tim Holtz Edge Distresser (Ranger), scissors, dimensionals

Moody Love

One more post before I check out for the night...see I told you I have been busy with these fun color challenges! This one is for the Moxie Fab World Metallics Color Challenge in honor of Paper Crafts Color Inspiration special issue. I used the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #174 for my layout.

I got the Couple of Moodies from Paper Makeup Stamps recently and wanted to get it inky. It is perfect for Valentine's Day or maybe even a wedding...basically anything love themed! I went for the less is more in the coloring area and I kinda like it! The cutie couple was embossed with gold embossing powder and I just colored the swirlies behind them with the Pink Pirouette marker. The hearts are chipboard hearts embossed with gold embossing powder as well. The final touch of gold was the scalloped piece that was embossed in gold that is behind the white panel. Speaking of the white panel...I actually used shimmer white, but you totally cannot tell in my pic. Hard to get a picture of that shimmer white I tell ya! The pink bow was my final touch. I kept thinking the card was too simple, so I stamped some text on the base pink cardstock tone-on-tone style...perfect touch.

That is all for me tonight. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - A Couple of Moodies (Paper Makeup Stamps), By Definition (SU! - retired); Paper - Pink Pirouette, Shimmer White (SU!); Ink - Pink Pirouette and Pink Pirouette Marker (SU!), Versamark (Tsukineko); Accessories - Heart Chipboard (SU!), Gold Embossing Powder (Ranger), Pink Satin Ribbon (Offray), heat gun, dimensionals

Baby Stardust

I am back with another of the Color Challenges in honor of the Color Inspiration celebration over at Moxie Fab World. Sorry, no witty insight into life today...I am actually at a loss for words. Strange, I know! Maybe because I am trying to do this quickly before I have to leave to pick-up my son from gymnastics...maybe those winter blahs are rearing their ugly head...whatever the reason, all I have for you today is a card (oh and I have a couple more coming too!).

So this is for the Monochromatic Color Challenge...the challenge was for some lovely shade of pink, which I had none of the exact shades, so I went with three shade of pink I did have! I used the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge #91 for my layout and as I upload this I realize I totally did not include the little circle that was suppose to have text in it on my card...oh well! And since this card is Baby themed, it fits perfectly for the current Verve Diva Dare Challenge this month. So all of that being said, the card is pretty basic. The bunny was paper pieced and faux stitched with a white gel pen. The ribbon is actually two pieces: the white satin ribbon and then a piece of lace that I had.

Well in keeping with my not too much to say, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Practically Perfect (Verve Stamps); Paper - Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette (SU!); Ink - Regal Rose (SU!); Accessories - white gel pen (sakura), Labels 16 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), white satin ribbon (Offray), white pearl (Oriental Trading), Swiss Dots embossing folder (Provo), dimensionals

Bold and Brightly Tied Up in Love

Are you ready for some prizes...a whole bunch of prizes? Paper Makeup Stamps is helping Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog celebrate their First Birthday....and they are only one of the many sponsors (which means there is a lot to win and lots of chances to win!). The challenge this week is an easy one...just pick one of the past year of challenges and go with it! So make sure you check out the Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog for all of the details...there is a Blog Hop to go along with it!

So for my card I went with a recent Paper Sundaes challenge of using Circles. I chose the Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge #2 for my layout and the Moxie Fab World Bold & Bright Color Challenge in honor of the Color Inspiration Special Issue by Paper Crafts. And since this is a Valentine's related card, it just happens to fit the Paper Crafts January Gallery Challenge too! Wow that is a lot of challenges for one card...at least for me! I gotta say I loved this color combo, but it was a challenge to color a big image like this with just these colors. I had to really restrain myself from adding another color to the bunnies! Speaking of bunnies...aren't they just the cutest?! These are Billy and Bianca all tied up in love...makes me remember the days of high school when it was a form of courtship to duck tape the one you liked. I was duct taped a few times so I was pretty good at getting out of it too! I can distinctly remember that my now husband was one of those duct tapers back then! Anyway Billy and Bianca Love Bunnies are the latest additions to the Retro Cutie Critters line by Paper Makeup Stamps.

I colored them with an aquabrush and markers (for the colors) and an ink pad (for the black). The little "love" at the bottom is from the "with love" sentiment in the Little Moments Sentiment set from Paper Makeup Stamps. I happen to find a button from the Cat's Pajamas Candy Sprinkles set that matched perfectly so I went with that instead of a bow.

Four more color combos in honor of the Color Inspiration for Cardmakers issue to go...so you will see me soon! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Billy & Bianca Love Bunnies, Little Moments Sentiments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU!), Basic White (Papertrey Ink), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Melon Mambo Marker, Tangerine Tango Marker (SU!); Accessories - Black Satin Ribbon (Offray), Orange Button from Candy Sprinkles Button Collection (Cat's Pajamas), Heart Blocks embossing folder (Provo), thin white satin ribbon (Offray), Clear Stars Glitter Pen (Sakura), Circle and Big Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), aquabrush, dimensionals

Angelfish in Jewel Tones

Well Hugs and Fishes to all of you! Speaking of fishes, sometime I will have to go into our trials and tribulations with my son's fish tank...having some difficulty keeping fish alive! But I will spare you the story right now...mainly because I want to keep this shorter today.

I have been seeing the sneak peeks for the new Paper Crafts Color Inspiration Issue coming out soon and wow, I am loving it! Beyond sketches, color combos are my next favorite...talk about having to take the decisions out of my hand...all I am left to decide is what stamps will fit! So I jumped at the challenge to do the Moxie Fab World Jewel Tones Challenge in honor of the Color Inspiration Issue. Be forewarned that there are 6 color challenges and I am attempting to do them all!

I decided to take one more decision out of my hands and use the Mojo Sketch Challenge #172
for my layout. I stamped Angie the Angelfish, part of the Retro Cutie Critters line from Paper Makeup Stamps, in Whisper White and embossed her with white embossing powder. I tried coloring her in with a blender pen and ink pads, but the Not Quite Navy color looked more Ballet Blue then and didn't really fit. So I resorted to paper piecing her together from Elegant Eggplant and Not Quite Navy cardstock. Then I sponged So Saffron around her and added the stickles for some glitter!

That is all for me. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Angie the Angelfish, Cutie Critter Sayings (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Elegant Eggplant, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, Whisper White (SU!); Ink - Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant (SU!); Accessories - Tiny Bubbles embossing folder (Provo), white embossing powder (SU!), Oval Nestabilities Die (Spellbinders), So Saffron Brads (SU!), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), dimensionals

God is Big

Phew! I think I made it through my husband's massive overtime period...not sure I made it out in flying colors. I will admit it got a little rough there in the end...plus it is winter...all adding up to some emotional moments for me in dealing with the kids normal behaviors. But I feel a weight has at least been lessened, so I am thankful. But after reading a story of a fellow stamper (I do not know her personally), I am far more thankful to be healthy and have the family I do. See, Katie has stage 4 cancer and she actually has to think about that she may have a defined number of days left with her three kids. How does one handle that? In my opinion, you don't...you give it to God to handle and just pray that you can follow what God has in His plan. Believe not an easy task for me, a control freak, and that is only for minor in comparison problems.

The Color Throwdown Challenge Blog has decided to do this week's challenge in support of Katie...there is even a prize involved. So while I would have no idea what to say to Katie besides I will pray for you, this quote from Paper Makeup Stamps makes me remember that sometimes our problems are too big for us to handle and we need to give them to God. So I will be sending this card to Katie and I will continue to pray for her and her family.

The Color Throwdown Challenge #124 is to use Melon Mambo, Soft Sky, and Early Espresso. Very nice color combo, but I had only a smidge of Soft Sky left and no ink of any sort in that color. So I had to limit my Soft Sky portion of the card. I also used the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #173 for the layout, turned 90 degrees.

So if you can, join me in making a card for the Color Throwdown Challenge and send it to Katie...you might just be rewarded with a prize! Also check out Katie's blog...she is basically journaling her way through her treatment and it is definitely a story you need to read. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - How Big Your God Is Wordart (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Sahara Sand (SU!); Ink - Early Espresso Marker, Melon Mambo Marker, Sahara Sand (SU!); Accessories - Apron Border Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Labels 16 and Big Scalloped Oval Dies (Spellbinders), Flower Punch (Marvy), White Satin Ribbon (Offray), Pink Fairy Rhinestones (Bazzill Basics), dimensionals

PMS January Release Blog Hop

So have you enjoyed the Paper Makeup Stamps Sneak Peeks this week? I think the Critters are my favorite this month...what was your favorite? Well to entice you even more, you get to see even more using all of the great stamps from the release through a Blog Hop! So make sure you start at the beginning...if you already did, then you should be arriving from Stephanie's Blog (didn't she do awesome with that Frenchie Moody?!).

I got to play with the Cosette Fairy. She is just so warm and snuggly, isn't she? It makes me want what she is drinking...coffee, hot cocoa...it all sounds good! She was colored with ink pads and an aquabrush. The paper is Still in Box from the The Thrift Shop collection by October Afternoon. The layout is the January Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge #1.

Make sure to join us at the Release Party tonight from 9 - 11 pm in the PMS Forum! Don't forget to collect your letters along the Blog Hop for your 15% Off the entire release code...my letter for you is

And now I will send you on to the next stop in the Blog Hop: Maria's Blog. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Cosette Fairy (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Not Quite Navy, So Saffron (SU!), Still in Box paper from The Thrift Shop Collection (October Afternoon), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Baja Breeze (SU!); Accessories - Labels 14 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Blue Sparkle Brads (Making Memories...I think!), Corner Rounder Punch (SU!), dimensionals, aquabrush

Ooh La La Moody Time

Ok the Christmas tree is down, but every other single decoration is still up and the lights are still plugged into the timers outside. Why is it so hard to take down Holiday decorations? I have this difficulty after every holiday...Christmas is just worse because there is more. I promised myself that I would get it all down by the end of the weekend...let's see if I can keep that promise.

So we are continuing the Sneak Peeks for the January Release from Paper Makeup Stamps today...and today is Moody day. There are two new Moodys to add to your collection and I have the honor to show you Moody for France. Ooh La La...she has the cut short haircut, beret, and is full of bread, wine, and cheese...what is not to love! I stamped her in Brilliance Graphite Black ink and heat embossed it with black embossing powder on watercolor paper. I colored her with a combination of ink pad/aquabrush and marker/aquabrush. The paper I used is the front and back of the Happy for You paper from the So Sophie Collection by My Mind's Eye. The sentiment is from the Little Moments Set by Paper Makeup Stamps. The layout is the January Sketch For You to Try by Jen Del Muro.

Make sure you check out the PMS Blog to see the other peeks today. Don't forget to leave a comment there to have a chance to win the ENTIRE release. Then join us on Friday for the Release Party in the PMS Forum at 9 pm! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Moody for France, Little Moments Sentiment Set (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede (SU!), Happy for You Paper from So Sophie Collection (My Mind's Eye), watercolor paper; Ink - More Mustard, Whisper White Craft, Rich Razzleberry marker, Soft Suede marker, Crumb Cake marker (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Labels 16 Nestabilties (Spellbinders), Tangerine Rhinestones (Bazzill Basics), Lace trim (unknown), dimensionals, aquabrush

Ferret with Retro Style

Well Happy New Year to you all! I hope that 2011 has found everyone healthy and happy. We had a BLAST celebrating on New Year's Eve. Our house was the party house and it was just so much fun. The kids had fun doing a couple of crafts (painting party hats and coloring puzzles that I wrote 2011 on) and playing lots of games. We did a countdown almost every hour starting at 9 pm which was the biggest one because a lot of friends have younger kids or just plain want to go home and get some sleep. So they counted down at 9 pm and had balloons drop on them while they made all sorts of noise! So funny! If you would like to see pictures, scroll on down to the bottom of this post.

So with the beginning on the New Year, Paper Makeup Stamps is also beginning the Sneak Peeks for the January Release! Today is Critter Day...that is right we have a couple more Retro Cutie Critters. I love these little critters so much...they are cute, spunky, and just darn right fun to color! I get to introduce you to Fiora the Ferret. I have definitely never seen a ferret so retro stylin'! She looks like she is straight out of the 50's! I stamped her in Brilliance Graphite Black on watercolor paper and did a combo of markers/aquabrush and ink pads/aquabrush for coloring her...oh and a smidge of paper piecing for the hand warmer. The pattern paper is from the BoBunny Olivia Collection: Ambrosia and Baby's Breath. The layout is from the current Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge #89.

Make sure to check out the rest of the sneak peeks of the two new Retro Cutie Critters on the PMS Blog...you could win them! Stay tuned this whole week as we sneak peek everyday and then join us for the Release Party in the PMS Forum on the 7th at 9 pm. There is always lots of chatter and fun with some games mixed in!

Now onto some pics from our party:

Our Balloon Drop!

My Punky Girl

My Happy New Year Kid

Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Fiora the Ferret, Just for You Sentiment - past Freebie (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - River Rock, Old Olive, Cameo Coral (SU!), Ambrosia and Baby's Breath from Olivia Collection (BoBunny); Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Old Olive, Cameo Coral, River Rock Marker, Early Espresso Marker, Not Quite Navy Marker (SU!); Accessories - Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon (SU!), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Rounder (SU!), paper piercer, dimensionals