Oooh-lala

This 6-pack was for a challenge at CardMaker as well; you were to use a bird or a bee on your card. This is what I came up with:I just got this stamp set, Elements of Style, from Stampin UP! last week and I must say... I love it already! After I embossed the background paper, I ran it over my ink pad... turned out well, I think.

It's hard to tell at this point but, I stamped the humming bird on cardstock (the same color as the background) using Versa mark. Then, I rubbed ink over the top, wiped off and cut out. It was a bit labor intensive but well worth it!

Merry Sock-mas!!

Let me just say that I love this stamp set! I made this card for a paper piecing challenge at CardMaker. I pieced the following parts: light brown monkey parts, red mouth, red on his Santa hat and the ribbon on the package.
I think this picture shows off the card better than the top. There are 3-D dots under the package and the sentiment. AND!!! Stickles on the "fur" of the hat.

Let Me Make You Something Marvelous!

This is for a challenge over on CardMaker The challenge was to make a card using purple and lace.

I thought to myself: "This should be easy. I like purple and I love lace." The only problem was that I couldn't find any lace in my stash! What?? I know!!

But, after a shopping trip with my friend, Heather for her birthday, I had the ribbon/lace you see on the card.

I guess it's not technically lace but it's pretty to me. :)

PS- The pictures look all hazy like I got a new lens or something. Ha! It's just mega humid here and when I walked outside my camera fogged up!

"G" is for Glamour... and GLITTER!!!!!!

It's Crop time at CardMakerMagazine.com! Please join us for "Make it Marvelous in May" crop. Find all the challenges here. You have until Midnight on May 25th to submit your creation. Winner's are chosen at random.

Anyway... my challenge begins this morning. My topic...

"'G' is for glamour and GLITTER!!!". All you have to do is create a card with some sort of sparkles and submit!

I don't think you can tell very well from the pictures here (had to use the flash...) but I spayed the background and the butterflies with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Marshmallow.
You can see the sparkles here a bit.

Supplies:

Sizzix Butterfly #3

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels #4 (the red part)

Scallop Trim Border Punch (SU)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Real Red and Melon Mambo (used in conjunction with Michael's $1 stamp to make the background DSP).

** I chose to leave off the sentiment as I created this card as part of a group of cards for a swap over at CardMaker.

Graduation Cards via Stamp Club

I am in a Stamp Club with a few of my friends. I was the May hostess; with graduations and allergies/colds, we were a small group. While I missed my friends, I did not miss lugging the extra leaves for my table! :) We did "stamp a stack" to be able to produce several similar cards quickly. Perfect! Because I needed 3 graduation cards for the coming weeks. The stamp set is Bitty Birthday from SU. And! Look close... that's the Manhattan Flower embossing folder--Love!
Here's our tiny group, minus Lora. That's my Mom on the left (she's going to be impressed with this picture!) and my good, good friend Leslie and me on the left.

If you've been here before, you know that that's Miss Irene in the back ground.

Haha!

Making our house into a Home

A long time ago, JJ told his mom that his house was starting to get cozy. Want to know why? He had curtains, candles and a rug at the back door! (All dropped off, hung up, etc by me.) Well fast forward 7 years, finishing graduate school and beginning a marriage... here we are.... And I am still striving for cozy!

Anyway, I found this semi-ugly wooden word at Dollar General for $3. I liked the shape and the word, I didn't hate the red but the black line... really?? Had me wondering... "Just who thought that was a good idea?"

But I took it home anyway, busted out my Heirloom White spray paint and went to town! I let it dry overnight and sanded the edges and a few random front parts. I set it in my kitchen window next to an airplane plant and a stack of vintage butter pats that I picked up about a month ago.

Pretty cute and pretty home-y.

I am linking to Today's Thrifty Treasure at Southern Hospitality.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my Mom's birthday. I'd like to send a shout out to her plus a few of my favorite photos of her...

This is a scrapbook album cover... Me, Mom and Sarah on vacation (2008). Mom and Steve aboard the U.S.S Alabama; she's a WWII gun boat. Massive and beautiful floating in Mobile Bay, Mobile, AL. Eventhough the date days '08, it was just last summer.
We were freezing our tails off atop a light house in Hannibal, MO in 2008 in celebration of Mother's Day and Mom's birthday.

In front of the Missouri Govenor's Mansion. Christmas Season, 2008 Happy Birthday, my pretty Momma!!

Designs by Carl Olson

Look what popped open at my house this weekend!! My Mom's coworker and friend Carl, is an Iris Farmer; he even hosted a very prestigious Iris Festival (now, I know it has a more sophisticated name which escapes me at the moment).
Anyway, he is very talented and hybridizes iris to get different colors, color combinations and traits. I toured his yard last summer...snazzy! He shares extra bulbs or some of his favorites with my Mom, who shares with me! I am a lucky girl!! I got several bulbs last fall; they all have really cool names... but I have no idea what they are.
What do I know? I love these flowers!!!! Thank you Carl!

Here's the one I will call "Pink Lady". I think it might be a "double" bloom. All I know for sure is that I love these flowers. Did I already say that? And, that pink looks pretty cool next to my brick too.

Yummy!

Look at these colors! Stinking cute!!

Look close, I even captured a few water droplets. Fancy pants!!

Thank you Carl, for sharing the fruits of your labor with Mom and me.

PS- I have some more pictures to share of my yard but I will save those for another post.

Edited to include: Linked up to Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer. (Sorry I haven't quite figured out how to grab the logo yet...)