Just Give Me Stamps...

Way to Go...

Hi there!  The other day I sat down to make my 11 year old DS (soon to be 12, as he often reminds me :-) a card.  Since he's been going to public school this year, I have been so impressed with how diligent he's been with studying and homework!  Don't get me wrong, he's always been a good student...but not exactly what you would call a "self starter"!  LOL!  To my surprise, I haven't even had to ask him to do his homework...he does it all on his own!!  Woohooo!

 

I'm sure I've mentioned it here before, but J is a paper airplane fanatic!!  There are ALWAYS paper airplanes either flying through the air...or stuck on various pieces of furniture!!  LOL!!  So when Claire came out with her Free Spirit Boy set (which contains this awesome paper airplane image), I could hardly believe my luck!!  :-)

Along with the paper airplane image, I used the large circle background stamp, and the small single circle image (all from Waltzingmouse's Free Spirit Boy set) to create this card.  The sentiment is from the coordinating set Free Spirit Sentiments.

Well, I'm off running again!  (No, I'm not actually going running...but another trip to town.)  I hope your day is a wonderful one!  ~Laurie

Stamps:  Free Spirit Boy, Free Spirit Boy Sentiments (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Rustic White (PTI), Early Espresso (SU!), School Spirit Collection (Crate Paper)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip craft ink (SU!), Soft Sky (SU!), Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories:  Star Nestabilities, Brads, Button String (PTI), Clear Detail e.p., Paper Distresser

Bright As a Star...

Hello again!  You know, no one ever told me that once my kiddos went to public school that there was a good possibility that I would be even BUSIER than when I taught them at home!!  LOL!!  Seriously though, we've been running non-stop, but the kids are having a great time!  That's really what counts, isn't it?  :-)

Before I run off to pick them up from the bus, I thought I would sneak in here and share a card with you!

I used the Stampavie image called Bright as a Star combined with some patterned paper from Crate Paper's Snow Day Collection.  After coloring the image in with my Copics, I added some sparkle with some Stickles! 

Of course, I added some buttons, ribbon, and a rhinestone!  I almost feel like my card is not complete without those things!  LOL!!

Well, I'm running late!  I hope you have a wonderful day!  ~Laurie

JustRite Friday Challenge...

Happy Friday! 

This week, Stamper's Dream is sponsoring the Friday challenge on the JustRite Inspiration Blog . The challenge is a sketch, and the prize is a $50 Shopping Spree at Stamper's Dream . Trust me when I tell you that you won't have any trouble spending it there when you see all the latest and greatest products we have in stock, including the complete JustRite Christmas stamp collection!

Just use the sketch challenge #037 to make your card, then post it on the JustRite Inspiration Blog using Mr. Linky. You have until Thursday, September 30 at 9 am.

For my card, I used the Beautiful Blossoms set (from JustRite) combined with some gorgeous patterned paper (from the 6 x 6 Restoration Collection from Crate Paper)!  A match made in heaven, wouldn't you say?  :-) 

Please visit these members of The Dream Team to see what fabulous challenge card samples they have made for you:

Michelle 
Tosh
Cammie
Laurie
Amy
Christina
Karen

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a GREAT day!  ~Laurie

Cupcakes & Balloons...Oh My!

How are you this fine Monday morning?  We are back to our regular routine, but I thought I would stop in here and share another birthday card before the day gets away from me!  :-)

 

What could be more perfect than fun paper?  Well, fun STAMPS with fun paper of course!  ((grin))  I paired some of Stampin' Up!'s Play Date patterned paper with the Birthday Bash set form Verve Stamps...and I have to say that I LOVE them together!!  The sentiment is from Verve's Big Wish set.

Two birthday cards made...not a bad start to my week, eh?  (That little "eh" was for the benefit of my Canadian friends!  Teehehee!)   

Well, that's all from me today.  I hope your Monday is a fabulously creative one!  :-)
~Laurie

Stamps:  Birthday Bash, Big Wish (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  White (PTI), Vellum c.s. (PTI),  Early Espresso (SU!), Play Date DSP (SU!)
Ink:  Rich Cocoa Memento Ink
Accessories:  Copic markers, White grosgrain ribbon, Prima flower, Stardust Stickles, EK Success border punch, Corner rounder punch, Quickutz Cookie Cutter Labels, Circle Nestabilities, White gel pen

Homespun Birthday Wishes...

Happy Sunday!  Isn't it amazing how the weekend just flies by?  DH and the boys spent the night camping last night and DD and I will join them this morning.  We plan on spending the day on one of the nearby mountains (hiking, picture taking, & playing in the creek) to try and take advantage of what will probably be one of the last warm days that we will see this year.

I noticed that my birthday card stash was getting low, so the next few cards that you will see from me will most likely be birthday ones.  :-)

I had some Echo Park (Life is Good) paper sitting out on my desk and I couldn't get over how lovely the patterns were!  After not being able to decide on which one design, I thought I would use several!  Teehehee!

 

While looking through my JustRite sets, I came across this image (from the Birthday Centers Round set) and knew right away it would be perfect for my card!

A few rhinestones, some lace and string, and stitching completed my card. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  ~Laurie

Stamps:  Birthday Centers Round (JustRite)
Paper:  Echo Park (Life is Good), Vintage Cream (PTI), Early Espresso (SU!)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip craft ink (SU!), Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories:  Clear Detail e.p., Circle Nestabilities, Lg Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Lace trim, Button string, Button, Rhinestones, Sewing machine, Cutter Bee & Scor-Pal (to create the embossed dashes around the bottom layer of the card)

September Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz...

 

Welcome to the September Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz!

If you are playing along with this month's waltz (hop), then please link up your Halloween projects HERE in this thread over at the WMS Forum.

Like last month, there will be PRIZES!!!  One lucky participant will win some shiny new Waltzingmouse stamps!  If you aren't participating this time, there is still a chance to win!  Each DT member (there will be 10 total clues) has a SECRET WORD hidden in their blog post.  All of these words are clues to help you figure out the theme of one of the October stamp sets!  When you have gathered all of the clues, post your guess HERE in this thread!!  Good luck!

As soon as Fall hits, I get the urge to bake!  So, when I was thinking about what kind of project I wanted to make I knew it would have something to do with home-baked treats!  :-)  After deciding on Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (you can find the recipe HERE), I wanted to make some packaging that would match. 

That's when I remembered these adorable new Spellbinder's Pumpkin Nestabilities sitting on my desk...just waiting for the crisp weather of Fall!  :-)  As much as I love Autumn, and the cooler weather it brings...I have to say that I am blessed to live in a colder climate, verses, lets say...MEXICO!  Teeheheee!

For my Pumpkin shaped bag decorations, I used the Midnight Feast set and some My Mind's Eye paper!

The cute little tags at the top of the bags were included with my patterned paper collection.  I just embossed the "To and From" sentiment (also from the Midnight Feast set) on them!

I added some buttons and string to each of the bags for embellishments.

Well, that wraps up my project!  Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Don't forget to head back over to the WMS Forum where you can chat as well as see all the links of this month's participants!  Hugs, Laruie

Hello Friend...

Hello friends!  How is your day so far?  Mine...well, "busy" just doesn't seem a strong enough word to describe my whirlwind of a week!  :-)  Don't worry, I won't bore you with my never ending "to-do list" and move on to something WAY more fun!

Here's a little clean and simple card I made a week or so ago (but forgot to share)...

I used the new Dream Big set from Verve Stamps to create this mostly white card.  The sentiment is from the Happy Hello set (also from Verve Stamps). 

Can you believe there is NO ribbon on this card?!?  Believe me, I tried to add some...but it just didn't look right.  I guess sometimes less really is more.  Not very often...but sometimes!  LOL!

Well, that's all from me today!  I hope you enjoy your day!  ~Laurie

P.S.  I will be back tomorrow morning with my project for this month's Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz!!  There's still time, if you would like to play along!  You can read all of the details HERE.

JustRite Christmas Blog Hop #2...

Today The Dream Team from Stamper's Dream is joining JustRite Stampers for their newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops #2! Every Wednesday until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing the JustRite Christmas Collection of stamps! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card and project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog!

I used the Backyard Birds set to create my Christmas card.  I know, normally a bird stamp set is not something you associate with Christmas...but I was so taken with this beautiful Cardinal image and thought it was perfect for a Christmas card!

 

For the inside, I embossed a sentiment from the Nature's Nested Sentiments set.  To cut the image out, I used one of the new Labels 14 Spellbinder Nestabilities dies!

I colored the image in with Copics, and even added a little Liquid Applique to the branches for some puffy, white snow!  The paper is from Teresa Collins (I just love the non-traditional Christmas colors).

Please visit these designers blogs to see what fabulous Christmas projects they have for you on the hop today!

JustRite Inspiration Blog
Michelle Rodgers
Amy Sheffer
Christina Fischer
Kazan Clark
Tosha Leyendekker
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
Cindy Lawrence
Kellie Fortin
Denise Marzec
Stephanie Kraft
Karen Giron
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Carolyn King
Angela Barkhouse
Michelle Kovak

Thanks so much for stopping by!  ~Laurie

Autumn Friend...

I'm back today with a project I created for this month's Verve Stamps Project Parade!  The theme for this month is "Something Old, Something New"!  You can read all about it (and for your chance to win some FREE Verve goodness) HERE!  I will give you a hint though, it doesn't necessarily have to do with weddings!

I won't go into all of the details of my project (because you can read about that on my post on the Verve Blog.  I will mention that for my "old" set, I chose of my all time favorite Verve sets - Harvest Blessings!  (Which, by the way, happens to be THE set of the month and is currently 40% off!!)  My "new" set that I used is the latest released Happy Hello set.

Okay, I better run!  I have SOOO much to do!  My DD's school books were delayed in arriving and now I am frantically trying to enter all of the lesson plans, assignments, and projects into the computer (as well as organizing everything for the semester)!!  On the bright side, she started her classes today and so far is really enjoying them!  Okay..I'm going now!  I hope you have a wonderful day!  ~Laurie

Make a Wish...

What?  It's Monday already!??!  How in the world did that happen?  :-)  Time sure is flying by these days!!

I thought I would pop in and share a card with you before the day completely gets away from me!

 

I used the Penny Black set called Make a Wish.  The patterned paper is from the new Alphabet Soup Girl collection by My Mind's Eye.  I added some Liquid Applique to the fluffy white flowers, and some pink Stickles to the other ones.

The fun decorative border is called Brackets on the Edge, and is one of the Tim Hotlz Sizzix dies.

Well, that's all from me today!  I sure hope your having a wonderful week so far!!  ~Laurie