Hi friends! Hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend. I know many were still traveling home this evening and there was tons of traffic here in L.A. I am so thankful that I don't have to travel anywhere for the holidays. It's still hard not being able to spend it with my own parents who now live in Arkansas.
We spent the weekend loafing and I do mean loafing. Gosh it's good to just be homebodies and spend time alone as a family. I think every family needs that. I did get some time in my crafting nook and played with my new Imaginisce goodies. Here's a peek at a few of the things I created

A holiday card

A card based on this week's sketch at 2S4Y

A gift bag and gift card holder

And finally a hair bow I made with my new Itop tool from Imaginisce to match the dress my daughter wore for Thanksgiving.

I've had a fantastic weekend and something is changing around here but I can't share it just yet. For now I have to keep it to myself but I was inspired in a way I've never been inspired before. I'm excited about what lies ahead for me. This year is coming to a close and there have been ups but also alot of downs. I feel excited about 2010 and what it will bring for me and my family. Thanks for stopping by today!

Etsy Inspired # 63

Good morning friends! This is my last week as a Guest Designer at Etsy Inspired. I've had a great time getting inspiration from this month's featured Etsy shops as well as the Design Team! This week's sponsor is

And this week's featured shop is The Barefoot Weaver. This shop has amazing collections of handwoven wraps, scarves and other beautiful collections. Please take a moment to browse the collections hand made by this talented weaver!

For my first card I was inspired by the colors in this Yummy Chenille scarf. My husband asked me to create some cards for his business partners at work. So I created this card based on the color scheme in this scarf.

And I made a second card based on this skinny cuff

Play along with us this week for your chance to win this beautiful pin!! Simply link your creations to Mr. Linky at the Etsy Inspired blog here



Now stop on by the fabulous Etsy Inspired Design Team to see their beautiful creations. This is one talented bunch of girls!

Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Lee
Shannon
Tiffany

Gettin Sketchy on Black Friday

I've never been a Black Friday shopper. It's just not my idea of fun to get up at 4 a.m. and wait in hour long lines to save a few bucks. I always seem to find what I am looking for each year and still manage to save but last night I was flipping thru the ads I hadn't bothered to really look at earlier and noticed that ToysRUs opened at midnight. So I told my husband "Hmm...I be there won't be alot of people since it's still Thanksgiving" I decided to drive on down to the one near us to see what I could find. My daughter really likes Dora and they had this on sale for only 9.99 regular price at Target was 27.99

So as I pulled up to the parking lot there were people in lawn chairs and blankets outside Office Depot and Best Buy and the parking lot was totally packed! WOW, I had no idea it would be this crowded. I waited in line for over 45 mins to get in ToysRUs, shopped for 20 mins total and then waited another hour and a half to pay. I got home at 3 a.m. I sure hope my daughter loves her toys...lol

It's a time for a new sketch and a new sponsor at Get Sketchy! This week's fabulous sponsor is Craft Pudding

Craft Pudding is an Etsy seller that specializes in wood mounted adorable images that can also be personalized!

She has generously offered this set to this week's random winner

So if you'd like to win this week's prize create a card based on this week's Get Sketchy sketch created by our own team member Dora!

Here's my take with Bo Bunny paper and Rub-ons

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you'll join us this week and link your take to Mr. Linky. Come on, you know you want to Get Sketchy!

Giving Thanks

It's Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for today. I am so thankful for all your visits and kind comments you leave here at my blog. I feel very blessed to have so many crafty friends and the love and support of my wonderful family. Hoping you all have a wonderful holiday with your families!

P.S. Lily wasn't into the camera at all. I can only imagine what Santa pics will be like this year...

Happy Mail and Paper Posies December Kit reveal!

Hi friends!

It's no surprise that I love happy mail. I mean honestly who doesn't? So yesterday I got a knock at the door and on my porch stood a smiling Fed Ex man! Hooray! My box arrived from Imaginisce!! The hard part was I had to put it aside and because I was working away on my December designs for Paper Posies! I promise I'll be bringing you some fabulous Imaginisce creations here really soon! Oh and when you see what I made with my new Itop tool you'll be running out and getting one for yourself.

Today is the December kit reveal at Paper Posies!!! I am so excited to share this kit with you as well as this month's Guest Designer! So without further ado...December's Paper Posies kit!

And this month's Guest Designer!!!

I am so thrilled to have Heidi joining us this month! Not only does she have fantastic style but this girl can scrap! Stop by the Design Team Gallery to see her gorgeous designs! She's also posted them on her appropriately titled blog Queen of Paper.

Oh what a collection of yummy goodies in December's kit !!! As soon as I got my kit I dove right in and created these fab projects!

My daughter and I last year at the Grove getting her pic with Santa but we had to stop and say "hi" to Frosty too!

A little close up of the embellies :)

Next I cooked up a toasty little mini album with Maya Road's Mitten Coaster Album. I'll be showing you more of this project this month!

My favorite layout definately. Yummy Pink Paislee papers and chipboard! I played with the pics to make them look a little old fashioned and popped a little color to Santa's sleigh!

I love this card creation based on Mojo Monday's sketch this week! Some fantastic October Afternoon and Basic Grey rub-on made this card look bright and cheery.

This card has some more yummy October Afternoon that I embossed with my cuttlebug to add a little more dimension and flair. I also used the tulle, Ki Glitterlace cardstock and the cute Ki Memories softies!

Let me just tell you how fantastic the December kit is! So much yummy papers and embellies to work with! If you are looking for a fantastic kit club, look no more! Paper Posies kits are amazing and full of the hottest products delivered right to your home. But wait there's more!

Paper Posies is having it's 1st Black Friday sale and you don't have to be a current member to take advantage of these hot deals!

YOU GET FREE SHIPPING ON ALL BLACK FRIDAY SALE ORDERS!!!!

Our Black Friday sale includes all available kits (December kit excluded) for the following GREAT DEALS:

1 kit: $30

2 Kits: $55

3 Kits: $75

4 Kits: $90

Available past Add-Ons are also for sale: take 40% off the listed price and receive FREE SHIPPING (with purchase of a past kit).

Sale starts at 12:01am PST Friday, November 27th and ends Saturday, November 28, 11:59pm PST.Please email Michele at info@paperposies.com to place your order. Please put “Black Friday Sale” in the heading. First come, first served. Don’t wait too long - once the kits are gone, they’re gone!!!!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Hi friends. It's a new week and a new challenge at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. First I want to share with you that the entire store is 25% off ! And if that's not enough we've got Zva Creative in the store too. So if you love bling like me, check out the selection here. And as a bonus, for every order you place between now and the end of the month you get your name entered into a drawing for a HUGE Jacksonbelle goodie package worth over $100!
This week's challenge is to use your favorite products from the store. Easy Peasy right? Well my new favorite product is the new paper by My Mind's Eye Be Loved. Oh it's sooo yummy!

Supplies: Be Loved My Minds Eye, Martha Stewart twine, Heidi Swapp mirror heart, American Crafts Thickers, Making Memories button
We're also showcasing Pink Paislee this week on the blog so stop by and check out some of the fabulous creations by our Design Team.

Tobi Crawford ~ Tobi’s Place

Stephanie Hargis ~ Steph’s Stampin’ Stuff

Jimmi Mayo ~ Stamping & Shopping

Bethany Paull ~ It’s Not All Black & White

Michelle Philippi ~ Inside My Own Private Idaho

Carly Robertson ~ Paper in Bloom

Lynda Benden: Stamp Act

Jill Dunn: Ink Genious

Lindsey Botkin: Embellished

Trudee Sauer: Follow Your Bliss

Heather Lee-Reppen: The Best in Life

Keri Lee Sereika: Pink Lemonade

These two make me smile

It's so easy to love these two. Each day is a new discovery for Lily at this age and Scott is always there to show her the way. Like how to bounce really high in the bouncer at Tiny Tots. We went to celebrate Hannah's 3rd birthday Saturday afternoon and what a fun day we had. All of us running around in our socks playing and me taking photographs of my beautiful children.



Lily said "Daddy, let's pawdy and eat cake!" I love that Lily has her daddy's eyes. I melted right into them on our first date. I just knew he was gonna be my man. {smile}


Saturday it was dress up and dance day. I was editing photos on the computer and Lily came up to my side tugging on my sleeve saying "Um Mom...dance wif me" She loves to dance to Lori Berkner on Nick Jr. when she comes on in between programs. How can any Mom say no to an invitation to dance from such an adorable little girl? There's something to be said for dancing I must say.

She's just so darn cute! Last night after I put my little dancer to bed I completed a project that I'll be able to share with you soon as well as this week's sketch from Mojo Monday.


Supplies: Pink Paislee Amber Road & May Arts ribbon
I loved the sketch but of course added my own twist.
Just want to mention that the entire Jacksonbelle Embellishments store is on sale NOW through Monday Nov. 30th! No need to wait for Friday to start saving! :) No promo code is necessary and the whole store is 25% off!

A reminder too, EVERY order until the last day of November is being entered to win THIS gigantic giveaway!! Happy Shopping!

AND **new** in the store, ZVA Creative bling!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Etsy inspiration #63

Hi friends! Welcome to another Etsy Inspired Challenge. I'm so excited to be joining the DT this month for some fantastic challenges! I'm so sorry to be late posting this morning!Talk about issues...see DH thought it would be more green to buy rechargable batteries since our mouse, keyboard and my camera all take the same size batteries. Well...I charged our backup batteries last night before I went to bed so I could photograph my card and well..they didn't charge!!! Then the batteries died in the mouse and keyboard!!! I couldn't get on to update my blog, YIKES!!!
But...finally they charged and here I am...so let's meet our Etsy shop!

This week's featured Etsy shop is Sleepless Imagination. Her work is so beautiful and colorful! Plus this week Sleepless Imagination is offering up a $15 gift certificate for cards or prints ONLY in her store.

I love the heart in the center of the flower in this image and used it for my inspiration to create this CAS card


Supplies: My Minds Eye Be Loved, Martha Stewart twine, Making Memories button, stamped image Hero Arts
If you'd like to create a card and have a chance to win this week's prize link it up to the Etsy Inspired blog here

Now check out the fabulous Etsy Inspired Design Team

Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Lee
Shannon
Tiffany
Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a fantastic weekend!

New Sketch at Get Sketchy

Hi friends! TGIF for some :) It's time for a new sketch challenge at Get Sketchy!
This week's fabulous sponsor is Pink Persimmon Stamps!

We are delighted that Pink Persimmon Stamps is sponsoring this week's sketch winner with a 25.00 gift certificate to their store!

Here's our sketch for you this week

And I dug out some My Mind's Eye from last year to create my happy little winter card.

Here's a close up of a fun technique I did on my baby blue card stock.

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the plain cardstock and then placed the piece of card stock on my Big n Bossy embossing pad and made sure it was well coated. I then sprinkled hologram embossing powder over the entire piece and then use the heat tool to create the glittered effect.

Super fun!
If you'd like to create a card based on this week's sketch, link it up to Get Sketchy by Thursday
the 26th (yep Thanksgiving) at midnight.
Hope you enjoy your weekend, how many are going to New Moon tonight? Ohh I wish I was going!!
Thanks for stopping by!

So Vintage 2S4Y Challenge and other projects

Hello friends! Hard to believe Thanksgiving is a little over a week away! I love the holidays. Spending time with family and making yummy treats to enjoy, what could be better right? Well paper crafting is right up there with the holidays for me. I love that I get to create something almost everyday.
So this morning I grabbed my cup of coffee and a copy of Laura's sketch and got to craftin! I was already on a shabby chic kick from scrapping up my Inspire Me 12 Days of Christmas projects last night.

Here's This week's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You


Here's my take on this week's sketch

Supplies: Websters Nature's Storybook pattern paper
Misc roses, ribbon and lace
Gold Stickles
Martha Stewart punch
Stamped sentiment Hero Arts

A close up of this lovely Melissa Frances embellie

close up of the sentiment and bottom of the card
Next is my layout I created for Dena Coe's Inspire Me challenge using a large photo

Supplies: Websters Nature's Storybook paper
Prima Camelot Roses
Prima Say it in Crystals
Misc lace and small roses
Melissa Frances cornerframe
American Crafts Thickers

a close up of my Prima Camelot Roses

A close up of my tear and distress

Here's my Notecard gift set also made with Webster's Nature's Storybook. I chose to create some monogramed note cards for a holiday gift to give to a family member.

Whew! I think that's enough for today. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Inspire me! Jacksonbelle Tueday Challenge

Hello friends! Thank you so much for stopping by today. This week's challenge at Jacksonbelle Embellishments is to head on over to Hanna Andersson's website and create a card based on one of the dresses that inspires you.

I chose this dress as my inspiration

and created this card


Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly mini deck
Inkadinkado Christmas Stamp Set
May Arts Grosgrain ribbon white
Misc bling
We'd love for you to join us for this week's challenge! Link up your card to the Jacksonbelle blog or if you post to SCS or Paper Craft Planet used this tag JBE080. Now check out what the other Design Team Rockstars created this week

Tobi Crawford ~ Tobi’s Place

Stephanie Hargis ~ Steph’s Stampin’ Stuff

Jimmi Mayo ~ Stamping & Shopping

Bethany Paull ~ It’s Not All Black & White

Michelle Philippi ~ Inside My Own Private Idaho

Carly Robertson ~ Paper in Bloom

Lynda Benden: Stamp Act

Jill Dunn: Ink Genious

Lindsey Botkin: Embellished

Trudee Sauer: Follow Your Bliss

Heather Lee-Reppen: The Best in Life

Keri Lee Sereika: Pink Lemonade