Soaring to New Heights

 Well another release for Paper Makeup Stamps has come and gone!  How did you like the latest release...what, you didn't see it yet?  Well then click on over to the PMS Store to check it out.  But before you go let's visit a stamp from the release that will have you soaring to new heights!


This is Lea and she is flying along with her kite!  Looks like fun doesn't it...a lot better than standing on the ground trying to get the darn kite up in the air.  Yup that is me...for some reason I just do not have the knack for getting a kite to fly!  Anyway, I thought it was fitting for her to have a sky behind her, so I created one...pretty cool right?!  Done by sponging over top of a scallop circle and moving that scallop circle around to form the clouds.  A little paper piecing, some rhinestones, and some baker's twine later, she looks complete...just wish it would have come together that fast and easy.  This was definitely a labor of love!  Oh and I used the first week Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge for May for my layout.


You cannot see it in the big picture, but check out the detail shot.  See that slight sparkle on all of the white cardstock?  That is the Cryogen White Iridescent cardstock from Paper Temptress.  It has a lovely sparkle that just makes you smile.  I have heard it is fabulous with Copics.  I used ink and a blender pen here...it definitely acted different than my other cardstock I color on...hard to explain.  It is almost like it was absorbing the "water" too fast and wasn't allowing me to blend like I am used to.  It is so pretty though, so I will definitely keep playing with it.  If you are interested, it is on sale right now for 30% Off at the Paper Temptress Store!


Make sure to jump over to the PMS Blog to see what the other makeup artists are showing off today.  Until next time (which may be  a little bit scattered here as I have to make birthday invitations for my daughter's birthday and then make a cake), thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details
Stamps - Lea Fairy (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal Pattern Paper (SU!), Cryogen White Iridescent (Paper Temptress); Ink - Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Stardust Stickels (Ranger), Scallop Circle Punch and Ticket Corner Punch (SU!), Tangerine Blast Rhinestones (Bazzill Basics), Baker's Twine (unknown), sponge, blender pen, 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

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

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

A Trio of Anniversaries

I am finally getting the chance to be crafty again. Had to get through Thanksgiving and a 90th Birthday party (not mine of course) and finally (hopefully!) getting over a sickness and getting Christmas decorations up (almost done!).

My cards-to-be-made list is very long and covers a lot of missed occasions, so I was pretty happy to knock three of them out with the latest Verve Challenge. The Verve Project Parade Triple Play Challenge is to create a trio of coordinating projects...whether that be a combination of a card, bag, and tag or three cards, boxes, etc. Since I was very behind on my November cards, I was in need of three Anniversary cards...so I went for a trio of cards using the same supplies, but with different looks. To help me out even more, I grabbed three of the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenges from past weeks to give me three different layouts to work with....love me some sketches!

I used The Most Beautiful Thing Wordart by Paper Makeup Stamps...inked it up with markers and stamped it on Whisper White paper. I cut it and a black mat out with Oval Nestabilities. The Black mat was then distressed. The pattern paper is from the Olivia Collection by BoBunny. Each card has some Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon from Stampin' Up! and some black rhinestones from Bazzill Basics.

This was a great challenge for me and I love how the cards turned out...similar but definitely not the same! And since I need 3 masculine birthday cards, you will probably be seeing this again!

In other news...and this is awesome, so listen up...Paper Makeup Stamps is having an incredible sale during December. Since I don't want to get anything wrong, I am basically copying this from the PMS Blog:

For the first time ever, PMS is having a grab bag sale! Whats a grab bag? Well a grab bag is filled with goodies... you just dont know whats going to be in it!

There are lots of different types of grab bags available!

The Fairy Grab Bag - $10

For only $10, you'll get 3 fairy stamps! That makes them each only $3.33!!

The Moody Grab Bag - $10

For only $10, you'll get 3 stamps from the Moody Girls collection! That makes them each only $3.33!!

The Monster Grab Bag - $7.50

For only $7.50 you'll get 3 of our beloved monster stamps! That makes them only $2.50 each!

Sentiments and Wordart Grab Bag - $10

For only $10, you will get a mixture of wordart and simple sentiments at a minimum value of $20!!!!!

The Cutie Critter Grab Bag - $8.50

For only $8.50, you will get 3 stamps from our Cutie Critter collection, makign them $2.83 each!

The PMS lover & newbie grabbag - $40

This grab bag was designed for someone who either loves PMS and wants to beef up their collection OR want to share their love of PMS with someone who might not yet have much in their stamp collection. This grab bag will include a mixture of stamps and/or sets from the entire PMS inventory. This grab bag is sure to please having goodies retailing over $80!!!!!

Oh wait, and we're not done! We are also GIVING AWAY SHIPPING this month! Thats right, free shipping to anyone in the US and a reduction of $3 to shipping outside of the US. Please use USDECEMBER as your voucher if you are in the US or 3OFF for those outside of the US.

And the even better bonus, this voucher will work with all other vouchers!!!!

Quantities of grab bags may be limited to stock on hand. Free Shipping will last the entire month. No requests on the grab bags, please.

So make sure you quickly take advantage of this awesome sale! I already ordered three grab bags myself...so excited to see what I get! Until I can come back with some more card eye candy, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - The Most Beautiful Thing Wordart (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Old Olive, Basic Black, Really Rust, Whisper White (SU!), Olivia Ambrosia and Olivia Stripe from the Olivia Collection (BoBunny); Ink - Old Olive marker, Really Rust marker, Bravo Burgundy marker; Accessories - 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!), Upper Crest Border Punch (Friskars), Black Rhinestones (Bazzill Basics), Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), distresser (Tim Holtz), dimensionals

Review in Hiding

Twelve years...seems like a lot right?! how about 18 years...whoa that definitely seems like a lot! Funny...both seem like they could be just a year or so...but the numbers by themselves seem huge! Today my wonderful husband and I celebrate our 12 year wedding anniversary...we have been together for 18 years (started dating in high school). So Happy Anniversary to my Love (as if he reads my blog)...love you today more than yesterday and I will love you even more tomorrow (unless you forget to put the dishes in the dishwasher!...just kiddin')!

So with the celebration of my anniversary going on, I nearly forgot about showing off this adorable monster named Leif by Paper Makeup Stamps. Totally love this little guy hiding out in the leaf pile! Makes me look forward to the nice raking day where the kids and I play in the leaves...then the novelty wears off and I still have much more raking to do! Anyway, stamped him on watercolor paper and colored him with an aquabrush and ink pads. I found this tree pattern paper that I based all of my colors off of. The watercolor paper was too white against that pattern paper, so I sponged all around the monster...I really like how that made his eyes pop out even more! The Leif Monster comes with a sentiment (didn't use it here) and technically has three leaves as part of the stamp...I chose to make the leaves separate so I could use them easier...such as to stamp leaves on my paper strips! The sentiment I did use was from the Little Moments set from Paper Makeup Stamps.

Make sure to see what the other designers are reviewing today over on the PMS Blog! Have a great Sunday and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Leif Monster, Little Moments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Old Olive, Really Rust, Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Tree pattern paper (gotta look this up...sorry!), watercolor paper; Ink - Really Rust, Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Bordering Blue (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Cool ribbon (no idea - came from my Big Sis), Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), aquabrush, dimensionals

A Moody Blog Hop

Well here we are in October! Wow! Why is that time always goes by faster this time of year...really don't get it! We are busier now than in the summer time. Having new releases to look forward to every month from Paper Makeup Stamps makes time go even faster. And guess what?! The October Release is here!! You should be arriving here from the ever talented, Tina...wasn't Leif the cutest thing ever!! If you missed it, make sure you start at the Beginning...there is lots to see!

I got to ink up the Moody for Chocolate...one of two new Moodies for this release. I am sort of a chocolate freak...I can stay somewhat controlled, but I do want that little bit of chocolate every day. So I am totally lovin' this Moody...I can totally relate to having chocolate on the brain. Anyway I stamped her on watercolor paper with my Brilliance Graphite Black ink and watercolored her with an aquabrush and ink pads. My layout is one of the Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Sketches. I am all about the sentiment too...we all need to treat ourselves every once in awhile! That sentiment, by the way, is the Freebie sentiment (mine is shown using a digi version) with an order placed in October...and it goes with many of the October Release Stamps!

So now you are to head over to Randee and see what she has in store for you! Oh but before you go, you need to collect your letter from me...so here you go:

Make sure you collect all of the letters to get your code for 15% off the Entire Release! Have you been entering into the daily contests that happened for each Sneak Peek day...then you should definitely pop into the Paper Makeup Stamps Release Party tonight at 9 pm in the PMS Forum. There will be lots of chit-chat, some prizes, and even a challenge or two...plus the announcement of the winners! So go continue on the hop and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineered Details

Stamps - Moody for Chocolate, October Release Freebie Sentiment (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Creamy Caramel (SU!), striped brown paper (DCWV), watercolor paper; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Ballet Blue, Real Red (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Red glitter Gelly Roll pen (Sakura), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Red Circle Rhinestone Brads (SU!), Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder (Provo), aquabrush, dimensionals

A School Sneak Peek

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had a low key weekend and enjoyed it even though is was cold out...so not ready for the really cold weather. Seriously, I cannot handle low temps anymore...I feel like I am freezing already and we are only in the upper 50's to low 60's! Even in the house I am feeling cold, so I go to check the thermostat because I am convinced that our ancient furnace has finally kicked it...and low and behold it is at the temp it is suppose to be! I swear it is because of age...now I see how my Mom has gotten to be where she will just about wear a sweater in 70 degree weather!

Anyway, you aren't here to hear about my aging woes (or maybe you are and are just laughing at me!) you are here to see what is coming this month from Paper Makeup Stamps! It is once again another great release (how does Katie do it?!) and this school girl fairy is just one of the cute stuff being released. Hint, hint...there is a school boy fairy too! I chose to use the Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Sketch Challenge #3 for my layout. I had bought the cool orangy-red pattern paper awhile back and had yet to break into it, so I broke it out here.

Since it was a school fairy, I stamped her on some notebook paper from the Basics White Basic Grey paper pad and just colored her in with markers...I know totally old-school and not very professional, but I thought it fit...like the girl was drawn and colored on a notebook page by a kid that was suppose to be listening in class. I had to layer some colors on her hair to get it to match nicely with the paper (Ruby Red with a little Pumpkin Pie on top). Finished it off with some dyed ribbon and the "Way 2 Go" tag from the Little Moments set by Paper Makeup Stamps.

So would you like a chance to win this stamp or one of the others being shown today? Head on over to the PMS Blog, check out what the other designers came up with, and then leave a comment there! The winners will be announced at the PMS Release Party in the PMS Forum on October 7 starting at 9 pm EST...oh and check out this POST to win even more stamps!! Good luck and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - School Girl Fairy, Little Moments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Soft Suede (SU!), Basics White Paper Pad (Basic Grey), Kitchen Spice Cinnamon (BoBunny); Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Sage Shadow, Sage Shadow marker, Soft Suede marker, Ruby Red marker, Pumpkin Pie marker (SU!); Accessories - Clear Stars Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura), white taffeta ribbon (SU!), Square and Scallop Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1/4" Circle Punch, Slot Punch, dimensionals

Wild Birthday

Wow I feel like I have been missing off of the planet for the last week! When I went on my girl's weekend with my sisters, I swear I was coming down with some major allergies...then I came home and found my whole family with the same symptoms! Not so much allergies, but a nasty cold. My husband had to actually stay home on that Monday because I could barely function. Then to top it off I ended up with a sever ear infection on Friday...oh man does that hurt! So now I am on medication and hopefully will kick this darn thing (along with my daughter...son and husband are already better)...although the ear still feels a little funny...ugh! But this cold has taken me out of the loop for the last week, so I feel very behind on anything I planned to do...a lot of that has to do with getting ready for our 2 week Mediterranean Cruise in less than 2 weeks! So if you don't hear from me very often, I am either trying to get things ready or we are on our cruise! If I am organized enough, I may set up a couple of things to post while I am gone.

Anyway, enough of my woes...I made this card for a little boy's 5th birthday. I started off with the Verve Release Sketch Challenge and Color Challenge...here I thought I was going to be all sneaky and finish all five of the challenges in two or three cards and then I finally read that I was technically suppose to make a different card for each challenge...oh well! So the color challenge was sort of a tough one: Chocolate, Orange-Yellow, Vanilla, and Green-Gray...which I translated to Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Very Vanilla, and Sahara Sand. Not a color combo I would probably go for, but I like the splash of yellow to highlight parts. I of course had the sketch, but I flipped it and then even flipped some of the components as well...it was a starting point!

The lion was stamped three times so I could separate the body, mane, and face to give him some dimension. The greeting was stamped in Chocolate Chip and then highlight with a Summer Sun marker. The pinking (is that the right term for that jagged edge?) look came by punching a scallop circle and then rotating it slightly and punching it again. The patterned paper in the background is from To the Nines. I didn't want to have any ribbon since it was for a little boy, but I needed something...so I added a strip of beads. i just put a strip of sticky tape down, covered it with beads and then added some Crystal Effects over top to keep them in place. The main image and the greeting seemed to plain, so I added individual beads to those elements.

Well that is all for me! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Wild About You; Paper - Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, To the Nines DSP; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Summer Sun Marker; Accessories - Brown Beads (JoAnns bead aisle), Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Crystal Effects, Sticky Strip Tape, Mono Multi Liquid Glue, Scissors, Dimensionals

Love Pendant and Shaking Moment

Ok I am still shaking right now! Partly because I just got done doing a workout (Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred...tough workout!) and I can barely lift my arms, but mostly because I just got an email saying I had a project accepted for the March/April 2010 Issue of Paper Crafts Magazine! That is right, I am going to see my name in print in a magazine...with one of my cards, of course! Totally shocked and amazed right now...I actually started crying when I called my husband to tell him. Sorry I can't show you what got accepted, but when the magazine is released, I will be sure to point out which one is mine (I have no problem exploiting myself!). So now I have to learn about all of the paperwork and such that goes with having something accepted. Woohoo!!!

So this card, obviously, is not the one accepted. This is the last of my cards for the Verve 2nd Anniversary Sketch Challenges. This is also the last card I did in a night of 3 cards...so it was a wee bit late when I made this...so don't judge me too hard! I do like parts of it, but as a whole...let's just say it is not my best work! So I chose to try (oh why did I decide to try this one) the SCS Color Challenge #228: Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, and Pretty in Pink. Really? I guess it combines ok, but man was it a tough one...and like I said not 100% pleased. I used the Renaissance Hearts Pendant (the small one) for my main circle...layered onto a larger circle and a scallop circle. I sponged the Really Rust through the die for the funky heart shapes and then sponged the edges of the pendant. This was my attempt to tone down the pink...it just felt so bright up against the Really Rust and Not Quite Navy. The patterned paper is a retired Hostess Prints Pack (on Pretty in Pink). I used the Renaissance Borderabilities along the bottom of the card and sponged Craft Whisper White ink through the die...note to self I need smaller sponge daubers...my normal sponge was a pain in the you know what! I finished off the card with some rhinestone stickers (need more...I have been using these a lot lately!) and some white taffeta ribbon.

Ok I have calmed down a little by typing this, but when I think about getting accepted, I start to shake all over again! So exciting! Well anyway, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - None; Paper - Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, Pretty in Pink, Pretty in Pink PP, Whisper White; Ink - Really Rust, Whisper White Craft; Accessories - Love & Happiness Rub-ons (retired SAB), Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Renaissance Hearts Pendants and Borderabilities (Spellbinders), White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Stickers (Me & My Big Ideas), dimensionals

Dance-Sing-Live

So why does being a Mom have to be so difficult sometimes? I need to remind myself that if it were easy than it probably wouldn't be a rewarding during those good times...right?! I am trying to get my 4 year old son to understand that his sister is a real person and not a doll that he can move around to suite his desires or a toy that he can randomly go up and smack on the head or in the belly! My poor little girl puts up with a lot. He is not doing it in a mean manner, but he is definitely not giving her the space she deserves! And man, I get so very,very frustrated when I have to repeat the same thing over and over again to him! Ahhhh! Ok, I need to look at the last line on this card and do as it says...let it go!

So on to the card at hand...this was one of the other cards I did for the Verve 2nd Anniversary Sketch Challenges (which I was not one of the randomly chosen winners...insert sad face here, but I do now have 5 cards ready for upcoming birthdays and such...insert happy face!). This was my second card in my night of three...so not entirely sure I like all of it, but I like portions of it! I used the circle Nestabilities to cut out the sentiment from Verve Stamps Beautiful You set and then sponged it with Pretty in Pink ink while it was still in the die...gives it that white edge. I used the flower from the Beautiful You set to make the patterned paper on the left and used some of the To the Nines DSP on the right side. The pretty in pink square was embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder.

I have one more of my Verve Sketch Challenge cards to post and now some losing (although I still like them) Spellbinders cards I created for their Pendant Project Contest...so I will talk to you later! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Beautiful You (Verve Stamps); Paper - To the Nines DSP, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink; Accessories - Circle and Scallop Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Rounder Punch, Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder, Pink Satin ribbon (Offray), Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets, sponge, Crop-a-Dile, dimensionals

Fall Garden Birthday

Would you believe that I actually got all of the Verve 2nd Anniversary sketch challenges done! I did the last 3 last night...which of course means I stayed up way to late and the last card or so, may have been a bit rushed...but they are done, so now I am in the drawing for the entire August release! Keeping my fingers crossed!

So I have 3 cards to show you, but I am going to break them up into 3 posts...mainly because I hate writing really long posts...and multiple cards means long post!

So this is my favorite of the 3 I did last night...you will probably see the quality of the cards go down hill as I will show you them in the order that I made them. This was done with a fresh head though, so it turned out good. This is using the AVS205 Sketch and I stuck to the sketch pretty closely (of course my flowers make up the circles in the sketch). I finally inked up my new Greenhouse Garden stamp set that I have had for a week or so. Love the whole 2-step Stamping thing for flowers...they just always turn out so pretty! So of course I love how the flowers came out. I stamped each flower in one of the new In Colors: Rich Razzelberry, Dusty Durango, and Crushed Curry. Then I stamped the detail image for each flower in Elegant Eggplant, Really Rust, and More Mustard...perfect combinations to get the tone-on-tone style flower, but more vibrant than just using the same color. I embossed two strips of Crushed Curry and rubbed some More Mustard over the top to give it a bit more definition. Then just used textured cardstock on my bottom layer with some faux stitching with my respective darker color. The sentiment comes from the Women of Life set by Papertrey Ink.

Off to clean a sink and get a little cleaned up for dinner. Family dinner out and maybe a movie for Mom and Dad tonight...that is if my husband doesn't fall asleep again like last night. See I wasn't even planning on stamping (or completing all of the sketches), but he fell asleep after saying he was going to take a tiny nap at 9:40 pm...yeah, he never woke up until 2 am...and I was actually still up! So here is to coffee or some sort of caffeine so we can watch a movie...geez we are so sad sometimes! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Greenhouse Garden, Women of Life (Papertrey Ink); Paper - Basic White (Papertrey Ink), Rich Razzelberry Textured, Dusty Durango Textured, Crushed Curry, More Mustard, Whipser White; Ink - Rich Razzelberry, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, Really Rust, More Mustard; Accessories - White Taffeta Ribbon, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, dimensionals