Eggcellent Easter Layouts!

Are you ready for Easter? It totally crept up on me and I can't believe it's this weekend! I haven't even been in the Easter-y mood, but working with this weeks challenge at Cricutters Anonymous (formerly Just Buggin) got me ready to do all the egg dying and basket building this weekend!


Cricutters Anonymous#31 - Eggcellent - Make an Easter themed project

My tip on the blog - Swapping out your base cardstock is a great way to change from boy to girl layouts without doing a lot of extra work!

I am not a chronological scrapbooker, but technically I guess I should have done Easter 07 first (since I still have some 07 pics to scrap!), but I loved these pics from 08 so went with it. Also, I have this "thing" that if I have pictures from the same event, they have to be the same layout for each of the kids' scrapbooks. Insane I know, and sometimes I don't even follow my own set rules (HA!), but it works for me and helps me whip out some pages quickly because the work has already been done! ;)

Anyway, here are the two layouts I created for our traditional Egg Hunt on Easter morning. I used Doodlecharms for the eggs, and embossed them with my Cuttlebug folders. The title was cut out with Makin' the Grade. I used a clear buttons, punched out a circle of the Happy Easter print paper, and stuck it to the back of the button.

So are you feeling inspired to make an Easter card for the family you might be sharing Easter dinner with? Or do you have some pictures from last year (or the years before!) that you want to get finished before you take even more pictures. ;) (Happens to me allllll the time!) Be sure to join us with this fun challenge, I can't wait to see what you create!

PS - My first article is up on the Craft Critique Blog today!

Supplies
CS: Almost Amythest, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette - SU; Bazzil Basics
DSP: The Paper Studio
Misc: Decorative stick pin - Fancy Pants, DMC floss, clear button, scallop edge punch, double stitch chocolate chip ribbon, 1 in circle punch - SU, Doodlecharms and Makin' the Grade cartridges

Tough Guy

Welcome back to another Tuesday with the Stamp Tramps of Skipping Stones Design! Seriously, I love Tuesdays! Monday is out of the way, and I get to see what the other girls came up with on our sketch challenges!

This week is our last sketch from our March Guest Sketch Artist Jami Bova. Jami has done some incredible sketches for us and I've loved the challenge each one has brought. Thanks Jami!

Here is the sketch for this week:

I went manly (but added a bow!) on my card this week and had a blast inking up Tough Guy!

Again, I didn't follow the sketch exactly, but I love all those layers on there! I ended up covering most of the blue layer that I stamped with the diamond plate stamp, but its still there and I love how it peeks through! The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from Coffee Vol. 1, but the DAD is from Tough Guy. This set works so great for those men in your life! Not only do you have the Dad sentiment, but you also get Son, Brother, Uncle, Grandpa and Grandson! You can mix any of these words with other sentiment sentences to find the perfect way to say Happy Birthday, Thanks or even Thinking of You!

PS - Next Tuesday I'll be making my first post on the Your Memories Here blog as the Guest Designer for April! I'll also be posting it to my blog, so yay two posts on Tuesdays during April! I got my little packet of goodies last night and I can't wait to get crafty!

PPS - Tomorrow you can read my first article as a Staff Reporter for Craft Critique!

PPPS - You will definitely want to be a subscriber to the Skipping Stones Design newsletter! The newsletter (being sent out Thursday night) will contain information on how to get Bras vol. #2 for Free before it is available for purchase!

PPPPS - You totally rock if you hung with me all the way through all that info! Give yourself 10 points! ;)

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!
Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell
March Guest Sketch Artist Jami Bova

Supplies
CS: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue, Bordering Blue
Ink: Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip
Stamp: Tough Guy and Coffee Vol. 1
Misc: pewter brad, Brocade Blue ribbon

Fancy Schmancy

Well, once again I find myself with no crafty project I can show yet! Instead, how about a picture of Jake and I all dressed up for his Fancy Schmancy work party? It was definitely a "Black Tie Event" and we had a blast! I kept being reminded of Prom, haha! ;) PS - Jake hates when I wear my heels because I end up just a little taller than him, hehe.

Speaking of Prom, and since its that season, how about pics of Jake and I at our respective Senior Proms? Haha I died laughing looking at these!

Wow, we were lots cuter back then! 10 years and two kids later hasn't been the kindest, haha! ;)

Anyway, tomorrow is our Skipping Stones Design sketch Tuesday, so at least I have something for that! ;) I worked with the April Commit 2 Paper kit again and finished another 5 layouts, so I have done 10 with this kit! Sorry to tease and tempt you, but I can't wait until you see the kit contents and the different layouts I've done. I'm so curious as to what the other Inspiration Squad girls did, too!

Club CK!

Make sure to check out the article on Craft Critique for Club CK today! Craft Critique is GIVING AWAY a FREE one-year Charter Membership to one of our lucky readers. Craft Critique will randomly pick a winner on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. Please check out the article for the full details!

I've been hearing about Club CK and have seen the ads in my issue of Creating Keepsakes, so I can't wait to go check out the idea galleries, and see what all they have to offer! I'm thinking this will be a pretty good deal as well, since even if you don't win, there is a coupon to get $5 off your membership at the end of the article. The membership is only $34.95, (I thought it was going to be tons more actually!) and you get a full year of the quarterly magazine, Scrapbooking Tips and Tricks included with your membership. (That's a $23.96 value!) Anyway, just thought you all might like to know!


**Comply Disclosure http://www.cmp.ly/3/r62o6e

C2P Sneak Peek - April Kit!

I was creating up a storm this weekend, but unfortunately its not anything I can show yet! Bad Kandi!! ;) I will tell you though, that I am seriously thrilled with the stuff I've been working on, and there will be some really cool stuff going on the blog-o soon enough! Well, cool I think anyways, haha!

I'd mentioned that I got my April Commit 2 Paper kit last week, and that's what I've mainly been playing with (among other things...*sneaky chuckle and grin*)! I am amazed each time how different my layouts are from each other, yet the supplies are all coming from this one kit! So since I don't have anything new to share with you today, I thought I would sneak a peek in at a teeny tiny bit of the kit.

Here is a teeny tiny peek. The layout this is on is possibly one of my favorites I've ever created...seriously. I've used this kit for pages of both Gwynie and Brady, and so far I've made 5 layouts. I still have enough paper and embellishments for at least another 3-5 more! Plus, I'm a scrap user, so I might even get a few cards made, too! ;)

So any guesses as to what the picture above might be? Oh also, Commit 2 Paper is still having their HUGE sale! One kit is already Sold Out, so if you want to get an awesome kit for $10 you better hurry quick!!

May your coconuts...

Welcome back to another Tuesday with the Stamp Tramps of Skipping Stones Design! Today is another fun sketch and I am so excited to show off the set that I used! One thing you will notice immediately about SSD is that the stamps are humorous and a little bit sassy. I love the set Tropical Birthday and the funny sentiment it contains! There is also a winner of blog candy at the bottom of my post!!

Here is the sketch we were challenged with (and yes I flipped it)! SSD 17

And here is how I interpreted the sketch! The corners made me think of the swirly frames in Tropical Birthday and right away I knew what I wanted to do. Gwynie and I went to Rumbi's for lunch on Saturday, and if you've ever been in there then you know how fun the decor is. I must have been inspired by it, because just looking at this card makes me think of Rumbi's! Probably from the colors and the hemp.

Isn't that sentiment hilarious?! I think my Mom or my Mother in-law would get a kick out of this card! Do you have a friend you could see yourself giving this to? This cracks me up and I can't wait to make a few more cards like this just for fun and to have an extra on hand! (PS - I promise those greens look much closer in real life! I didn't notice until I was typing this all up how off they looked!)

ALSO - last week we had a DT only blog hop, and since my previous winner didn't claim their prize, I will be offering up this cute unreleased stamp set!

Random.org picked #5


And #5 is Sara! Congrats Sara! Please email me kandipants21 [at] gmail [dot] com to with your mailing address so I can get this out to you!

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!
Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell
March Guest Sketch Artist Jami Bova

Supplies
CS: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Sweet Pea Collection pack
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Stamp: Tropical Birthday by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: hemp, Creative Memories Oval cutting system, Copics - E09, E37, Y17, G21, YG 67

Card Candy

I'd mentioned before that our stamp group swaps cards, but we changed it up a little for this month. We did "Green" Card Candy instead! For those of you that might not know, Card Candy is a term for a collection of embellishments to add to your cards. There are numerous examples on Splitcoast with all different themes that I love browsing. Last August we did a Summer theme, and since it's March and St. Patricks Day we choose Green as our theme. Instead of doing luck or leprechauns or clovers, I decided to focus on the green aspect of SPRING!


I did some butterflies and flowers, and only used Certainly Celery and Whisper White for my colors. I love how fun this all turned out, and it looks so fresh and springy!

The poofy flower is one you've seen on my blog before. You can find the tutorial on Wendy Smedley's blog. The cut out butterfly is on Celery Prints DSP, and is the smaller butterfly on the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot. The little leaves were also cut out on the Big Shot on the Birds and Blooms die. The thank you sentiment is from Fresh Cuts, and is cut out with the Modern Label Punch. The stamped butterfly is from Cause for Celebration, and the corners were punched with the ticket corner punch. I loved combining the book print with the butterfly that has print on it as well! I also added a little border strip and used the Fiskars Apron Lace Punch. The last piece is the background paper, which was done with the Scatter Sunshine wheel in Celery ink. Every little embellishment is added to a clear acetate sheet so when the recipient uses it, it peels off easily.

Here's the group together! Guess I should have made an extra for myself! ;)

Supplies
CS: Whisper White, Certainly Celery - Celery Prints DSP
Ink: Certainly Celery
Stamps: Cause for Celebration, Fresh Cuts, Scatter Sunshine wheel
Misc: Beautiful Butterflies die, Birds & Blooms die, Fiskars Apron Lace Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, book pages

Spring Carnival!

Today is the Craft Critique Spring Carnival! Take a look at all the great projects HERE! I can't wait to see all the spring inspired projects!

Commit 2 Paper!

Sometimes I think I'm crazy....other times I know I am. You might think I'm crazy for joining another Design Team, but I am super pumped! ;) Since my term with CIG will end soon, I wanted to fill in something with scrapbooking. I have long admired Amy's work, and have watched her grow her own scrapbooking kit business. Next month marks her two year anniversary starting Commit 2 Paper, and I couldn't be happier to join her Inspiration Squad! (Yay I'm on the page, haha!)

I'll be working with the April kit this weekend so I'll be back on the 15th of April (or around there) to share all my layouts! I got my kit last night and I was so inspired by it that I've finished two layouts already! The rest of the IS will have theirs uploaded as well on the Inspiration Squad Gallery! (Take a look at what they've done with the March kit!!)

Also, C2P is having a sale on all of the older kits! All 2008 and 2009 kits are $10 each and you pay just $12 shipping for every 4th kit! So take a look and check them out! And just so you know, I'm paying for all of my own kits (along with the rest of the Inspiration Squad girls), so I'm not just feeding you a line about how awesome these kits are! :)

Craft Critique!

Ok, I can now tell you the secret I've been keeping for awhile! I am going to be a Staff Reporter for Craft Critique!! I love reading and writing, and toss in the fact that you review crafty products....well I am just so excited about this opportunity!

I applied back in November, and they made their decisions in February. My first article (that I wrote when I applied for it) will be up on the site either this week or next. I'll post a link here when its live. They will also post short bios about the new reporters as well. I've already picked out my next topic, and I'm thrilled to be reviewing it. So, any crafty products out there you want info on before you invest in it? You can always make suggestions at Craft Critique!

PS - It's time for the Spring Carnival at Craft Critique! Have you made a Spring project? Hop on over to get the info about submitting your project, and you will be in the line up! Today is the last day to email your links (by 6pm CST) so hop to it! I'd love to see your Spring inspired projects!

The Man Challenge

Sometimes I like to bend the rules. Well, maybe a lot of the time, but I guess it just depends on the rule. ;) So I used my "creative license" with this weeks Just Buggin challenge! The challenge is #29 - The Man Challenge: Make a manly themed project!

Ok mine isn't technically "manly" but little boys turn into men too fast, so I thought it would be fun to capture my little "man in the making" hehe. When I was trying to figure out what cartridge to use, or how I could make a man project, I came across the skull and cross bones image with the Danger title on the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge. I thought of these pictures and went to work! I crumpled up the cardstock before adding my picture for a distressed look, but it doesn't show up very well in the pic.

Along with a new bike and some toys, Brady got a skateboard, helmet and pads for his birthday this year. He would NOT smile for me at first because he said he was being tough! In the end I finally got a smile from him, but his tough face cracked me up. We'd been at the high school for a Wrestling tournament (same day as his b-day and the cheerleaders sang him happy birthday, haha!) so he was still in his gear, so I used the blues to add a little color pop.

Here's a close up of the title and journaling. I added some random staples, and brads in the centers of the stars.

So, do you have any "Manly" themed projects you want to tackle? Birthday cards, a scrapbook page, or maybe a jump start on a Father's day card? ;) Come join us at Just Buggin, we'd love to see what you create!

Supplies
CS: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
DSP: DCWV - Rockstar collection
Ink: Basic Black (for journaling line edges)
Misc: Creative Imagination frosted brads, Spiral punch, Gypsy Wanderings cart, staples,

Hey Chic-a-Dee!

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design’s Blog first DT only Blog Hop to celebrate the release of two new Spring/Easter Inspired sets!

If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. You should have arrived from Erin's blog.

Combined with the blog hop today, it's also Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday which means the Design Team is showcasing another great creation from Jami Bova aka sgtstamper. We'd love for you to play along with the sketch. Just remember to use the keywords SSD016 if you are uploading to any online galleries or link your card at the Skipping Stones Blog. We'll be looking soon for Guest Designers so you never know....

For my card I used the darling new set Chick Chat being released today! I did some peeks of this set along with Gray Hare and Sassy Snow here in case you missed them!

Here is the sketch we were challenged with:

And here is my card using Chick Chat! I flipped the sketch around so I could use the three chicks in a row. I was so feeling the Springy colors and these cute chickies! I colored in the chicks and flowers with Copics. My favorite part is the little chicken legs! I colored them in with one color, and then went back over in an orange and made little lines! Take a look at the sentiment, how cute is that?! This would be so fun to give to a friend you haven't seen in awhile, or have just been feeling out of touch with.

So, how about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, our DT has blog candy up for grabs. So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!!

Your next stop is to Sanakri!

Supplies
CS: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
DSP: Bashful Blue prints pack
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue
Stamp: Chick Chat by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Designer series Playground buttons, dmc floss, Apron Lace border punch, scallop edge punch, Copics - RV11, B00, G21, E51, Y13, B14, Y17, YR04, YG03

March CIG Layout

It's time for the DT Reveal for Create It Green!

Here is the sketch the Layout Team was challenged with.

I'd hinted last week as to what I was making, and Wendy guessed it right with handmade paper! I recently had some cardstock get ruined so instead of tossing it, I used those water damaged pieces to make handmade paper. I tried using rose petals (dried and fresh), but I didn't get the best results. So, instead I made a flower with the paper. I borrowed my friend Mel's kit and screens and made this red color and a pink that I'll use later. You can also use newspaper or junk mail and an Acid Free powder (included with the kit) so you're really recycling!

My husband sends me flowers all the time, whether its because he was thinking about me, or if I was having a bad day. The song You Make Me Smile by Uncle Kracker is one of my favorites and reminds me of Jake. I wanted to document these every day moments and write out the chorous of the song.


Be sure to check out the rest of the DT projects at the CIG Blog!

Supplies
CS: The Paper Co. Red, Basic Black
DSP: EK Success vellum sheet
Misc: Opposites Attract Cartridge, Flower Layers Big Shot Die, button, black Zig marker

Bunnies and Chicks and Snow, Oh My!

Did you see the announcement on the SSD Blog Tuesday??! Gray Hare and Chick Chat will be released on the 16th during the DT Blog Hop, ANNNNNND if you buy both those sets and another of your favorites, you can get Sassy Snow FOR FREE!! There is a peak at the full sets HERE and the announcement!

So I thought I would show you a card with each of these sets, and use the same layout like I did the other day. It was such a blast working these in different ways and I can't wait to play with them some more!

This first card uses Gray Hare, and of course it has some hilarious sentiments in there! Can I tell you how much I love this color combo?! The paper is from the new SU Sweet Pea stack and once I saw the little bit of gray I knew I wanted to use it with this little guy.

Isn't he just adorable? Take a look at the tail...I used a "Snow Pen" to give him a fluffy tail! I'm kind of feeling an abundance of cute overload right now with that bunny and the pinks, haha!

I am also in love with the colors on this next card using Chick Chat! Same style paper, just different colors. You would think I totally planned out that ribbon and the dotted orange paper right? Ha, that is definitely giving me far too much credit! ;) I was rummaging in my ribbon drawer for an orange or teal color and I remembered I had an orange dotty one I bought awhile ago. I dug a little deeper and found it, but was dismayed the color was off. Then I put it together and realized it fit perfectly! Sweet! I also love this little sentiment. Can you see yourself giving this to one of your cute friends?!

This last card uses Sassy Snow and a funny little sentiment with the thought bubble. Funniest story with this stamp too - I was working on this card and Gwynie came in and was laughing about the saying. She then kept looking at the stamp and the stamped snowman with a puzzled expression on her face. She finally burst out - "MOM! That snowman has boobs!! Oh wait, that SNOW WOMAN has boobs!!" HAHAHAHAHA I totally lost it! :) We were laughing hysterically and the sentiment really made sense to her then!

That fluffy snow at the bottom is also from the Snow Pen. I found it at my LSS last Saturday and was so excited to use it with this set. I added those little stick pins because they reminded me of the snowflakes on the DSP.

So, are you excited for the release of these stamps? I am really looking forward to making some Easter cards for the kids and family, and making a few funny cards to add to my stack and keep on hand when I need em.

Finally for today I have a little sneak peek for you! The Create It Green DT Reveal is Monday the 15th and I can't wait to show you what I worked on for my layout! Any guesses from this photo below? You'll see the final product and layout on Monday, along with the rest of the DT.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful weekend! We'll be at a Wrestling tournament tonight and tomorrow morning, and then Disney on Ice Saturday evening. I am already tired just thinking about it. ;)

Blog Award!

I always say that papercrafters are the sweetest bunch, and here's more proof! ;)

I was so touched that I received this award from two different people! Wow! You have to check out their blogs, SO MUCH eye candy! I received this Beautiful Blogger Award from Melissa and PenLight! Melissa has some incredible Disney World layouts (can you believe she has gone every year since she was 2?!) that I am definitely going to turn to when I finally get around to scrapping our visit from last year. ;) Pen has played along with some Just Buggin challenges and has made me laugh with her cute pun cards. She has such a fun sense of humor with her cards and builds some beautiful scene cards! So go check them out! Thanks girls!

The rule: Write 10 things about yourself others might not know and pass the award on to 10 others.

So, part of the award is to tell 10 facts about yourself and then award some other bloggers. I decided that I wanted to do some random and funny facts about myself, since, well, I am a totally random person! ;)

1. I cut the tags out of all of my shirts because I can't stand the irritation of the tags rubbing on my skin. I read a long time ago that this was a first born thing, but so far Gwynie doesn't have any issues so who knows.

2. I met Jake in college...I was dating his roommate. ;)

3. My Senior year of high school we dissected fetal pigs, and I named my pig JAKE because I liked that name....coincidence????


4. My real name is really just Kandi. Its not short for anything and yes, its spelled uniquely. My parents suggested I go by my middle name, Michelle, when I started middle school because I was teased constantly for my name in elementary. I decided that I really am a "Kandi" and stuck with it.


5. I think "Whatever!" is the best word to end a fight with. I mean, really, what can you say to refute "Whatever!" ? Also, I am always right, even if I'm wrong, I'm always right. Just ask Jake.

6. I once babysat a pet monkey one summer when I was 14. Yes a monkey! She was a De Brazza's Guenon and was just an infant. She wore diapers (with a hole poked through the diaper for her tail!), drank bottles of milk, and took her baths in the sink. She even had her nap times and had a play pen. Long story short, it was probably the best job I ever had!

7. I LOVE to read! I read A LOT and I read quite fast (I can typically read a book a day). Sometimes its a battle...do I paper craft or read?! It can be a toss up! In 2009 I read 69 books, but I've only read 6 this year. (Totally slacking here!) I read everything from romance, young adult, science fiction, historicals, biographies, and anything inbetween that I find interesting. I keep everything updated on Goodreads and I have a widget in the bottom right hand corner if you ever wanted to see what I've been reading lately or what I read last year! Needless to say I have a HUGE list of books on my "To Read" list!

8. I have had my belly button pierced for almost 10 years now and I really do love it. I left it in during my pregnancy with Brady because I knew there was no way I'd ever get it repierced! Luckily it was fine, but I sure did get some funny looks from the nurses! ;)

9. I love watching sports with my husband. He tells me all the time he is so glad he married a chick that can have intelligent conversations about sports, and enjoys watching them as much as he does. It’s been said I know more Baseball rules than a friend of his. :)

10. My nickname is Kandi Pants. One of Jake's teammates when he was Wrestling in college gave me the nickname and it stuck! My friend Mel even has me listed in her phone as Kandi Pants. ;) Her and Jake are probably the only ones that still call me that, and I laugh everytime they do!

Now for the fun part, the bloggers I want to pass this award onto! And of course I have to be wordy, but I wanted to tell you what I LOVE about these bloggers!

1. Barb of http://barbsboys123.blogspot.com/ Barb's Boys - Barb recently started her blog, and I am always blown away by her creations. She has such a clean style and always make everything look so seamless and polished! She has an eye for the details and always does such superb cards and layouts!


2. Sharon of http://ladybug820.blogspot.com/ Ladybug Designs - Sharon is a powerhouse of a card maker! She makes more cards than anyone I know! She always makes me think - "Wow, why didn't I think of that?!" with some of her innovative techniques and cute cards.


3. Courtney of http://courtbaker.blogspot.com/ Practicing Creativity - Courtney has such a fresh style that I am head over heels for. Everytime I look at one of her cards I feel like my eyes have been purified by a spring rain - yep that fresh!



4. Heidi of http://notbusyenuf.blogspot.com/ Artiql8 - I have scrappers envy when it comes to Heidi's awesome scrapbook pages. She does things I'd never dare to do, let alone even think of! She is sassy and spunky and it totally shows on her pages. If I could aspire to be a better scrapbooker I would start with trying to scraplift some of her totally rad pages.

5. Sammye Jo of http://62cards.blogspot.com/ 62 Cards - I would love to meet this girl! I bet we would be fast friends! SJ makes the most adorable cards and layouts, and I swear she is an enabler when I get a look at the product she's using! Make sure you look at her Dear Lizzy vs. Preschool page...she took a girly collection and made it work for her little guy! Genious!

6. Judy of http://judyscardmakingandpapercrafts.blogspot.com/ Judys Card Making- Judy is a regular at the Just Buggin Challenges and I love seeing her take on the challenges each week! She always surprises me with her creativity using her Cricut and Design Studio, and offers several free cut files of her creations! How cool or what?!

7. Jan of http://janmosier.blogspot.com/ Life in the Slow Lane - Jan does things with patterened paper that make my head spin! Talk about perfection! She incorporates several patterns onto one card and the outcome is stunning!

8. Erin of http://www.inkysmiles.blogspot.com/ Inky Smiles - This girl is laugh out loud hilarious! You can get her personality by just reading her blog, and its incredible. Oh, and she makes awesome cards too. ;) She recently did a layout about early scrapbook pages and how we all start out somewhere. Erin, you are my hero, I can't wait to case that idea! ;)

9. Mary of http://mycardz.wordpress.com/ My Cardz - Mary is like the Copic Goddess in my own humble opinion. ;) The coloring and detail she does takes my breath away, and makes my heart skip a beat. Yeah, that good!

And the best for last (hehe) is actually two people, but I'm couting them as one because they are my family! ;) My Mom and youngest sister!

10. Della of http://della-gettingmylifebackonebeadatatime.blogspot.com/ Getting My Life Back One Bead at a Time and Shae of http://shaesrandommusings.blogspot.com/ Shae's Random Musings. My Mom has Lupus and other auto immune diseases, so her blog is a way to talk about coping with and living with that, as well as to show the jewelery she makes. I love reading my Mom's blog since we all live so far apart and sometimes you forget to talk about the everyday stuff even when you have 1-2 hour long conversations at least once a week. ;) Plus I get peeks at things she's making for the kids, but she's good about not revealing anything for me, dang it! ;)My youngest sis is like a crafting guru or something like that. She will try a craft at least once! I showed her the basics of cross stitching last January and she has done some incredible pieces since then! We are pretty much polar opposites, but she has a fun streak and I love to see what she'll make next. Its always guaranteed to be mildly inappropriate (snicker) and funny. ;)

Sorry that was totally long, but I just wanted to let each of these ladies know how wonderful they are! Its always so nice to get compliments and I wanted to show them my appreciation! ;)

Live LOUD!

First let me tell you, these pictures crack me up! There's a story as to why Brady has a shaved head in these pictures, (which will be scrapbooked hopefully sometime this year as it involves him trying to give himself a Mohawk.....), and this saying is just him...he definitely lives LOUD! ;) I even bought him a metal sign thingy for his room last year that says something about "I am here to live my life out loud!". So when I saw this paper at my LSS (Imaginisce Live Loud collection) I knew I had to use it for these pics! The strips on the side were part of a piece of paper that I cut apart to get the strips I wanted.

We were visiting my sis and her husband in Oregon for Thanksgiving back in 07. Brady loves his Uncle Josh and guitars...so of course much rocking out ensued! He also loves Nascar and Jeff Gordon, hence the halloween costume that became pj's. Yes, its true, us Moms have to do things like that sometimes to keep peace in the house, am I right? Its all about picking and choosing your battles...which is why he got the Jeff Gordon pj's, but I said no to the Mohawk. Looking back maybe I should have done that one differently? ;) If you had told me 10 years ago that I would let my son wear his halloween costume for pj's I would have laughed and smirked until I was blue in the face. Now, I know better than to argue with a little boy while getting a red face.

Anyway, (geez someone stop me I talk too much about irrelevant things, but I'm not going back and deleting all that. I will laugh at myself later and think I was clever...or not. Its debateable.) Ahem, anyway, this took forever to make because I was chit chatting with my friends Mel and Steph at the crop instead of busily working away and making this guitar out of paper. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking, it took forever to make. Probably because of the afore mentioned talking...maybe. Probably. Most definitely. But once it was done I loved it. (2.5 hours later - I talk a lot, but you've already noticed that). And I also thought I was super clever in putting the little star things in the center of the O's like the paper strips. Yeah lightbulb moment.

PS - I was out of D's in my Thickers, so I turned a P upside down to get a d. Sometimes you have to get creative!

Here's a little close up of the guitar.

Supplies
CS: Bazzil - (I don't remember the exact names sorry!) Blue, Olive, Orange and Black
DSP: Imaginisce Live Loud Collection
Misc: Thickers, SU Star brads, silver cord, rhinestone brads, corner rounder (for black pieces), EK Success Embossed Curve Punch

Chocolate Love!

I am so excited for the Skipping Stones Design Sketch today! This card was super simple and easy to put together, but I loved the outcome! Our fab March Guest Sketch Artist Jami Bova created such a fun sketch!

I stamped the kisses from Chocolate #1 to create my background paper, and then stamped and cut out an extra kiss. I stamped the sentiment (also from the Chocolate set), and curled the paper before adhering it to my card. Just a fun tip, I used my photo corner stamp from SU to punch out the triangle shape at the end, worked great! The delicious looking cookies (that Jake thought were stickers, ha!) are from Buns N Crunches. I love how you can actually see the kisses in the cookies so it was a blast putting these two sets together! After stamping the cookies I colored them in with a Copic marker, and added Crystal Effects over the top. This probably only took about 15 minutes to put together (adding the effects takes forever for me, haha) and is really simple, but I love the little details that make it unique and fun.

Supplies
CS: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Stamp: Chocolate #1 and Buns N Crunches from Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Photo Corner Punch, Creative Memories Oval Cutting system

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!
Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell
March Guest Sketch Artist Jami Bova

February CARDS Magazine Pubs

Eek I'm slacking a little with nothing new to show...just when I thought Wrestling season was over we're back in it again, haha! The high school season is over and the banquet is all done (so sad I cried, I will miss the Seniors!), but its Freestyle Club time, so Jake is coaching and Brady is wrestling. Whew, we are in for some busy weeks (ok months...) ahead, but I admit I love it! ;) We had a tournament this last weekend in Brigham (Brady took 3rd in Freestyle and 4th in Folkstyle), and then I went to crop with two of my besties. I will be sharing those layouts I finished later this week , but until then I'm cheating a little. ;)

Oh also, because of the tournament and crop I didn't get my winner posted for Saturday, sorry about that, but here it is! I literally cracked up after I got a number from Random.org and then counted comments.....

The winner is Barb, who won my last drawing! Lucky lady! Barb, I will get these goodies ready for you!

Ok, I said I was cheating a little, so here are two cards I had published in the February issue of CARDS Magazine. Once again I find myself surrounded by fabulous company in this awesome issue. I'm so thankful to CARDS for publishing my first card, and for picking up a few more here and there. ;) Enjoy!

This one is for the card and matching envelope.

School Pages Complete! ;)

HA! I did it! ;) I love that little sense of accomplishment when I can cross something off my To-Do list. I am a huge list maker, which I totally get from both my parents, so I tend to be a little crazy when it comes to my lists. Sooooo I was glad to cross this thing off my list.....to have the kids finish the journaling on their school pages layouts! I mentioned last week that I needed to get it done so yes, very nice to call it complete!

Also, you'll see below (and in the original posts with the double pages) that I like to keep the layout the same. It just adds a cohesiveness from year to year, plus makes it easy for me to know what I'm going to do each time. No need to reinvent the wheel right?

Here is my original post last week for the Kindergarten page below. You can see I had Brady add his favorite things (with a little help from me).

This is a close up of the journaling. We were running out of room so I wrote a few for him, and totally messed up #9 by writing the favorite before the Book. Oops! Oh well, I still love it and I know we will have so much fun looking back at it.

It cracked me up to listen to some of his answers, most were obvious, but I laugh everytime he tells me Meatloaf is his favorite food. Jake doesn't like it and since he always does the cooking, its a treat when I actually make Meatloaf for me and the kids. Crazy right? ;)


This one I actually finished awhile ago, after 3rd grade for Gwynie, but I thought I would show it since originally in this post I hadn't had Gwynie journal it yet.

Here is the journaling close up which is fun to compare to the next one below! You can see how much her handwriting has changed from each year. Plus, her list has some funny answers - like her favorite holiday is her birthday (hahahaha)!

And the original post for this page can be found here. When Brady did his journaling I had Gwynie do hers right after. Two for one. ;) Her writing has gotten so small that I had her keep adding things to her list to take up that huge square I gave her!

And the close up - can you believe she is a Lefty? Well, she is pretty much ambidextrous really. She writes and eats left handed, but golfs and plays softball right handed....yes weird I know. ;) Jakes older brother is a Lefty so we always tease that they have to eat by each other, otherwise they elbow the rest of us, hehe.



This is so fun to look back on! Her birthday is still her favorite holiday, pink is still her fav color, but its now HOT pink, she still loves reading and hates MATH! Currently, she loves the Twilight books, playing The Sims 3, she is addicted to her cell phone, and thinks a porshe is her favorite car because of this story since Jake took each of the kids for a spin in the 2010 Cayman!

Alright, well I hoped you enjoyed this, and give this a try with your own scrapbooks if you still have little ones! Its a great way to scrapbook those school pictures, document their current likes/dislikes and capture their handwriting and personality that year! I didn't start this until Gwynie was in 2nd grade, but I'm glad I started it when I did at least. If you try this, or if you've done it before (because I'm slow to jump on this awesome idea, hehe), I'd love to see it! :)

Thank You Card - Two Ways

Each month I get together with some fabulous friends, aka my stamp group! :) My awesome friend Sharon is our SU Demo and we all love having some girl time, stamping, and catching up with each other. I ended up missing our party last weekend, but I gave my cards to Sharon to trade with the group. That's the other fun thing we do - make 8 of the same cards with the given theme and then we take home 8 new cards! Its a fun way to build up your stash when you need a quick card, or to build up a place for instant inspiration.



Anyway, here is the card I made for our card group. Pretty simple because I was making 8 of them, but I really like it. The colors are neutral enought that it can be used for a guy and not be too over powering. Plus it doesn't have ribbon or frills or bling on it! ;)

And using that same layout, I made another Thank You card using the unreleased set Sassy Snow set by Skipping Stones Design. This is a little more girly and blingy and fussy, but wouldn't this be fun to give to a cute friend?! I love the sentiments stacked on top of each other like that!

I had made a card previously with sort of the same layout (sometimes you just can't stop haha) back in January using one of my fav SSD sets Garden Kiss. You can see that card here.

Supplies

Thank You
CS: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Stamp: All Natural - SU
Misc: Scallop trim border punch, corner rounder

You're Snow Wonderful
CS: Pink Passion, Garden Green
DSP: DCWV Christmas Stack
Ink: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink
Stamp: Sassy Snow by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Celery twill ribbon, Apron Lace punch - Fiskars, corner rounder, gemstones

JB #27 - Creative Cards

True Confession time...I have never used the "Card" feature on ANY of my Cricut cartridges. You would think that being a cardmaker I'd be taking full advantage of this right? I guess I never really looked at my options or thought about making a card from one of the die cuts.

Well thank goodness for the Just Buggin challenge this week then!!! I finally used this feature, and I'm totally itching to try it out again!

Challenge 27 - Creative Cards - Use the card feature on a cartridge of your choice. Many cartridges have a card feature.

So being that I'd never used this feature I wasn't sure even which of my cartridges HAD that feature, lol!! I started skimming through my books and saw that Locker Talk had it, and had a ton of cute options! I picked out a few that looked promising, but was instantly sold when I saw the pencil and thought of a fun stamp sentiment I have. Easy as pie I had an idea, but it took a little bit of time to get it just right!

I used my Gypsy to make the card 4x8 so that when folded up it was a 4x4. Then came the hard part of figuring out how big to make the pencil pieces so that it would fit perfectly on this little card. A few tests and I had it! On the Gypsy I put the Width as 2.90. I can't remember what the height was exactly, but because the width and height are linked it just cut perfectly. You could also do this in Design Studio I imagine. I have DS but find I'm always reaching for my Gypsy first even though my computer is in this same room, haha! Portable and convenient I guess wins me over. ;)

Just a tip - I always cut out stuff in white cardstock first if I am unsure of the size. That way I'm not using up my special cardstock for shapes I probably won't use, and the kids can get my white shapes to color on! See, its a win win for everyone! ;) I inked the edges of the eraser, pencil and blush tip to add some detail.

To dress up my card front I stamped these fun lines from Blocks and Borders - Swirls from Skipping Stones Design (before adding the pencil pieces). It added just the right amount of interest and contrast! I tied my bow just above the stamped lines, and added the sentiment. It was cut out with the Modern Label punch and attached with a mini clip from SU.

So what do you think, you wanna try out this challenge?! Stop by the Just Buggin blog to see more of our Design Teams work and link up your "Creative Card"! I can't wait to see it!

Supplies
CS: Brocade Blue, So Saffron, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Silver
Ink: Brocade Blue, Basic Black, So Saffron, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink
Stamp: Blocks and Borders - Swirls from Skipping Stones Design, Sweet Little Sentiments - SU
Misc: Brocade blue ribbon, mini library clip, Modern Label Punch, Locker Talk Cartridge, Cricut