Just Give Me Stamps...

Earth Angel...

Whew!!  I'm finally making it back to post my Waltzingmouse Stamps card!  After the kids finished up school yesterday, I noticed that my 5 year old son wasn't feeling so well.  He went from "not feeling very well" to having a 103 degree fever!  Yikes!  A sleepless night, ibuprofen, & many cold washcloths later his fever finally broke.  But before that happened, my youngest son's temperature started climbing also!  Lets just say that not a whole lot has gotten done around here...  LOL!  I'm happy to report that their fevers are both under control and things are a bit more settled.  :-)

I thought that while they were both engrossed in watching the Cars movie (for the hundredth time LOL!), I would share my card with you! 

 

I used the A*DORABLE Earth Angel set to create this soft and feminine birthday card!  I started with a 5 1/4" white card base, layered on some patterned paper (Basic Grey's Urban Prairie), vellum, ribbon, and a chipboard heart (covered in some coordinating patterned paper).  I wanted to add a little "sumpin' sumpin'" and thought maybe some Dew Drops would do the trick.  I then thought that maybe they would look good in a circle...sort of mimicking the garland the sweet Earth Angel is holding.  I'm not good at eyeballing these things, so I grabbed my largest circle Nestie and used it as a template for my Dew Drops.  I paper pieced the dress (from some paper from the same Urban Prairie pack) then added some "stitching" using my white gel pen.  Last but not least, I glitterfied the garland by adding some Stickles!  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I used my Color Spritzer to spray on a little pink around the main image!  So fun!

Ok...my boys are getting C-R-A-N-K-Y!  Who knew that you could fight over how big a pumpkin is or isn't!!  Sheesh!  :-)  You can see more Waltzingmouse creations by visiting the other DT ladies' blogs: 

Anya Schrier
Belinda Chang Langner
Bonnie Sharp
Julia Aston

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'll be back in the morning with something new for you to see!  :-)  ~Laurie

Stamps:  Earth Angel (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Choice Snow White c.s., Urban Prairie (Basic Grey), Vellum c.s.
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Nestabilities, Heart chipboard, Dew Drops, Sewing Machine, Ribbon, Button and string, Stickles, Color Spritzer with pink marker, White gel pen

 

Merry Little Christmas Tree...

I'm back with a quick little Christmas card to share with you!  This is my second post for today, so make sure to scroll down to see my first post (I share some fun news & as well as a giveaway!!)!

I paired this embossed Christmas tree image from the Holiday Sentimentsset (Inkadinkado) with some patterned paper from the Merry Days of Christmas collection (My Mind's Eye).  The fun snowflake swirl that I wrapped around the Christmas tree layer is a die cut that was included in the Merry Days of Christmas kit.  The "be merry" sentiment is from the Penny Black Crystalline clear stamp set.  For embellishments I added a button, some ribbon, rhinestones, & a wee bit of stitching!  :-)

Thanks for stopping by!!  Don't forget to check back in later as I will be back with another project to share with you!  :-)  Hugs, Laurie

Stamps:  Crystalline (Penny Black), Holiday Sentiments (Inkadinkado)
Paper:  Choice White (Taylored Expressions), Merry Days of Christmas (My Mind's Eye)
Ink:  Versamagic Dew Drops, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories:  Clear detail e.p., Ribbon, Button, String, Rhinestones, Copic marker, Sewing machine

Some News & a Giveaway!!

Good morning!!  We've been out of town for a bit, and I'm trying my best to catch up on stuff.  It's AMAZING to me just how much laundry can accumulate in such a short amount of time!  I mean, it's just short of a total phenomenon!!  In fact, I'm pretty sure it reproduces while I'm away!!  Hmmm, maybe that's something to send in to the Myth Busters crew...

First, I want to share some news with you!  I am honored to be able to serve on the Watzlingmouse Stamps design team!  Claire revealed her new store today...along with SIX brand new stamp sets!  I will be back later this evening with a project I made, but if you'd like some creative inspiration right now you can check out what the other Design Team members have made: 

Anya Schrier
Belinda Chang Langner
Bonnie Sharp
Julia Aston

You can see some gorgeous projects using the brand new sets at Claire's blog!  I love them all!

 

Ok...how about a little giveaway?  Typepad has graciously offered to give away a FREE BLOG!  I have used Typepad since starting my blog over two years ago and have LOVED it!  To be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment on this post before Sunday October 4th!  The randomly chosen winner will receive a code good from one free year of a Typepad Plus level blog!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'll be back in a bit to share a Christmas card I made...and then later today my Waltzingmouse Stamps card!  Woohooo!!  Three posts in ONE day!!  I'm on a roll!  LOL!

Gratitude...

Wow!  How did it get to be Thursday already?!?!  I am in awe of how fast the days are going by...  We have been so busy with school, Doctor appointments, and...well, too many things to even list!  LOL!  From what I've heard from others, this year has been an especially busy one for many!  I won't bore you withe all of the details, but just wanted to let you know that I'm still around...just swamped!  :-)

A quick note about the calendar book from my last post (scroll down to see it, or click HERE).  I've received LOTS of emails asking either where I purchased the book or how I made it.  Just to clarify, I made it...it's not chipboard but cardstock.  I did write some basic instructions in my post.  I am getting ready to head out of town for a few days, but I will do my best to write up a little "how-to" (with some pictures) when I get back.  :-)

Speaking of going out of town...  We will be staying with a friend for a few days while we're gone.  I wanted to make a quick thank you card to go with a small gift I purchased.  I actually had this paper still out on my desk and thought it would be perfect to use with the Gratitude stamp from Inkadinkado! 

This little card (4 x 4 square) was so easy to make!  I just embossed the Gratitude stamp directly onto the patterned paper!  I used the flip side of the orange dotted patterned paper for the background and stitched around the edges.  I added a little ribbon, a button, and a decorative punched border for embellishments.  That's it!  Easy peasy!  :-) 

Well, I need to go pack!  Yikes!!  I hope you all have a great day!  ~Laurie

Calendars & Generosity...

...go hand in hand over at A Muse!!!  Last year, they raised over $5,000 for the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society with their 2009 Calendar Project!!  Now THAT is awesome!!!

Well, they are at it again!!  On September 15th, A Muse launched their 2010 Calendar Project!  There are the same wonderful sizes as last year with the addition of a Full Size calendar (with lots of room to write on each day - perfect for busy schedules)!  The proceeds from this year's calendars will be going to Water 1st. 

Water 1st's mission is to serve families in the poorest communities in the world as they implement community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education.  Safe water saves lives. I encourage you to visit the Water1st website {www.waterfirst.org} to learn more about how this wonderful organization is saving and changing lives! 

I got a head start on my Christmas gifts this year and created a calendar pocket book!  I thought the A-1 (4-BAR) version would be perfect to hang on the fridge, use as a bookmark, or display on a desk.  So that the individual pages would be easy to remove (and return), I created pockets to store them in.  :-)

The book cover is decorated using stamps from the Waltzingmouse set Very Vintage Christmas (the decorative border stamped across each calendar is also from the Very Vintage Christmas set).  The patterned paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly mini deck.  Even though the book is decorated for Christmas, each individual calendar page is non-Holiday specific.

The pocket book was easy to make!  I used six 3 5/8" x 11" pieces of cream cardstock that were folded in half and adhered together (this size fits the A-1 (4-BAR) version perfectly)!  I stitched patterned paper pieces on as the pockets.

The four sizes of calendars available from download are:

*   A 1 (4-BAR) Version ~ (3 1/2" h x 5" w)
*   A 2 Version ~ (4 1/4" w x 5 1/2" h)
*   Square Version ~ (4 1/2")
*   And the NEW Full Size Version ~ (8 1/2" h x 11" w)

So for only $4 you will not only have an awesome calendar that you can print and use over and over again, but you will be helping to change the lives of many people at the same time!!  Gotta LOVE that!!

Here is a picture of the first calendar page inside the book.  Since I will be giving this as a Christmas gift, I wanted to include the December 2009 calendar page as well as all of 2010.  If you are using these calendars for personal use (I am currently making a Full Size Version for myself), you will love that A Muse included September, October, November, & December of 2009 along with all of 2010!!

Because this post is already long and full of photos, I decided to break the post into two parts.  To see the rest of the photos and the Supplies information, click below...