Just Give Me Stamps...

Keep Fighting...

 Happy, happy Friday!!!  Today is our last day in Oregon and we will be traveling home tomorrow.  While it's been a lot of fun visiting my family, this has been quite a stressful trip!  On our first day here, we were rear-ended by an SUV pulling a large boat.  SOOOOO not fun!!  We were driving our Toyota Sienna mini van and I have to say that I am very impressed with it!  It definitely did it's job, absorbed all of the impact (which was substantial) and kept us all safe (I was driving, my DH was in the passenger seat, and our four children were in the back seats)!  Trying to figure out all of the details with the insurance has not been fun, but thankfully they are taking care of us and we will be able to return home tomorrow (in a rental vehicle) like scheduled.  The best thing about all of this, that aside from being sore and a few headaches, we all are OK!! 

Continuing on that happy note...today kicks off the August Diva Dare over at the Verve Blog!  This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine!  The dare is to create an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone!  Oh yeah, this is THE perfect challenge for me!  I am notorious for making all sorts of cards (with the best intentions of sending them out) and having them pile up on my stamp desk! 

 

Here is how I answered the dare...  I knew I wanted my card to be encouraging, and I do love me some vintage colors...so I combined them together!  I used the Curvy Bookplate and hope stamps from the Tag Time set, the Keep Fighting sentiment from the Words of Wisdom set, and the matching Curvy Bookplate die.  To carry out the vintage theme, I distressed all of the edges!

If you want to play along, check out the Verve Blog for all of the details!  There IS a $30 Verve gift certificate up for grabs for one lucky participant!

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Have a fun (and safe) day!  Hugs, Laurie

August Paper Smooches DT blog hop!

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches September stamp release with you!  The Three NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase on September 1st.  You will find them HERE.  Follow the Paper Smooches blog for more sneak peeks.

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize!  Just leave a comment on any of the five design team blogs listed below for your chance to win one of the three new September stamp sets!  (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify)  You have until midnight MT on Friday, August 26th to leave a comment.  Please check all five blogs on Saturday, August 27th to see if you are one of the five lucky winners.

We are joined this month by the very talented Karolyn Loncon.  Heather has her hands full this month, so Karolyn is stepping in for her.  Heather will be back for our next blog hop on Sept. 22.

• Heidi Van Laar
• Karolyn Loncon
• Kryssi Ng
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Teri Anderson

To increase your chances of winning:

1. leave a comment on this blog post

2. tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop

3. tell us that you Tweeted about our blog hop

4. tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

(which means that you have up to four chances to win on each blog)

For my card today, I used the soon to be released Perpetual Bliss set!  I paper pieced four of love lightbulbs (isn't that image the caaautest??), and popped them up to add a little more dimension.  I wanted to keep the background fairly simple so the light bulbs would pop!

I'm so glad you stopped by!  Big hugs, Laurie

Nothing is Impossible...

 Good morning!  I'll bet you've noticed how quiet things are around here...  My family and I are actually in Oregon visiting my mom, brother, and sister-in-law!  I thought I would stop in here quickly and change up the scenery for you though...  :-)

Remember THIS card I made a while ago?  I loved the papers, colors, and heart shape (made with the From the Heart Die Set) so I quick made up another one!  Teeheee!  This card features a Verve sentiment from the newly released Words of Wisdom set!

Well, that's all from me today!  I hope your day is filled with lots of smiles!  Hugs, Laurie

A Couple of Uplifting Cards...

Good morning!  One of my favorite reasons for giving cards is to encourage and uplift someone!  It brings me so much joy to know that something I create could make a difference in someone else's life!  I love that!

My first card is a soft, floral card that could be used for any occasion.  I think any occasion is the perfect one to let someone know they are treasured!  :-)  The soft, warm tones of the Laced with Grace collection add to the lovely vintage feel so nicely!

  

While my first card was more soft and pretty, this card is more bold with a slight grunge feel to it.  I just adore the Love Games collection and especially love mixing and matching the papers!

I'm so glad you joined me here today!  I hope I have inspired you to share a little encouragement to those around you!  Hugs, Laurie

 

You Are a Treasure Card
Glitz Design Laced With Grace Papers:  Floral, Rose, Plaid
Glitz Design Laced With Grace Journaling Cardstock Stickers
Other:  Sunny Days stamp set (Verve Stamps), Spellbinders dies, Ribbon, Lace trim, Corner rounder punch, Sparkler, Prima flower, Tattered Angels Mist

Never Too Old Card
Glitz Design Love Games Papers:  Stripe, Polka, Poppies
Glitz Design Love Games Clear Stamps
Other:  Words of Wisdom stamp set (Verve Stamps), Checkerboard Texture Fades (Sizzix), Ribbon, Button, String, Heart punch, Clip, Rhinestones, Spellbinders die

Going Bananas...

Hi there!  I'm back today to share a fun card with you!  :-)

But first, I want to share some fabulous news with you!  Paper Smooches and Glue Arts have teamed up this week!  I loved getting to work with some new adhesives...ones that have now become my go-to adhesives!  You've probably noticed that I LOVE to add dimension to many of my cards!  That's probably one of the reasons that I fell in love with the 3-D Combo Pack!  The pack includes both Raisen's® and UCutIt® adhesives!  Love them!  My other favorite is the Glue Glider Pro...a very handy little tool that now lives on my craft desk!

Teeheheee!  I love these bananas!  How could anyone resist those sweet smiling faces?  I used both the Fruitastic and Alphadots sets from Paper Smooches!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your day is full of smiles!  ~Laurie