So as I said earlier, I've decided to get a burst of creativity in today in order to enter MFT's 2016 Card Design Superstar Contest. This is my 2nd card for today, and it is so strange to actually be crafting more than one project in a day. But it seems once I got my creative juices flowing I didn't want to stop.

This one uses one of MFT's older sets which unfortunately has been retired. This is the You're Super stamp and coordinating dies. This little super hero girl is so cute and fun to color. For the girl, I brought out my Prismacolor pencils which probably haven't been used in five years or more. My Prismacolor color combinations are (Hair: PC944, PC943, PC1032, and PC1033); (Skin: PC927, PC939, and PC921); (Cape: PC901, PC996, and PC1024); and (Outfit: PC932, PC1026, PC995, and PC949) and everything was blended with a colorless blender pencil because I was too lazy to go look for my gamsol.

For the front I blended together Chipped Sapphire and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks with a little Hickory Smoke at the bottom. Then I sponged Versamark ink over MFT's Star Celebration Stencil on some heavyweight vellum and heat embossed it with detail white embossing powder. When I laid this over the card front, I was disappointed that the color didn't come through as much as I'd liked so I sponged the same Distress Inks over the vellum and diecut the bottom edge of the vellum with one of the edge dies in MFT's Stitched Basic Edges Die-namics. The sentiments on the front and inside are both from the You're Super set and were stamped with Versamark Ink and embossed with the same white embossing powder and diecut with the starburst image from the die set.

As always, please leave a comment down below if you happen upon this post and feel free to link me up to your creations if you are also entering the contest.

I finally got some time to play and be creative this morning. Oh how I've missed getting my fingers all inky. And it's a good thing too, I almost missed out on entering My Favorite Things 2016 Card Design Superstar Contest!

So first up is an interactive card I made using MFT's new Llama Love stamps and dies. I so adore these little llamas! When I first saw them in the September release previews I knew they were going to be fun to create with. And they did not disappoint!

This particular llama is my favorite of the 4. I love the little ear that is sticking up. The llama and sentiment on the inside were stamped with MFT's Black Licorice Hybrid Ink and I colored the llama with various copics. All of the cacti are stamped with MFT's Jelly Bean Green Dye Ink and then colored with copics. I know normally you shouldn't use dye inks when coloring with copics, but I really wanted the lines of the cacti to blend with the coloring. I think these inks are amazing because I had no bleeding of the ink and I got the result I was hoping for. The sun rays behind the llama were created with MFT's Sun Ray stencil and Distress Inks (Rusty Hinge, Scattered Straw, and Squeezed Lemonade). The "Hay You" was actually created with diecut letters using MFT's Happy Birthday To You Die-namics over some scrap cardstock that I had blended using the same Distress Inks.

So the interactive part of this card comes from using MFT's Circle Flop Card Die-namics. This was my first time using this, even though I've had it for months, and I was a little intimidated with how well it would work. Turns out, it was super easy to line up, cut perfectly and showcases my cute little llama. And speaking of cute, how fun is that sentiment on the inside?

Once I started assembling everything I realized the background of the card front and the inside of the card were too stark white up against the warm colors. So I sponged some Antique Linen Distress Ink over the bottom portion of the card front and used the same ink to stamp the faint lines on  the inside of the card. The lines are from MFT's Distressed Patterns stamp set and add a really nice subtlety to the inside.

I hope you like my little creation and if you do please leave me a comment down below. And if you have any of these stamps, stencils or dies, please link me to how you've used them. I love looking at more inspiration.

YAY, another Compose A Card challenge!I love Becky's challenges and have tried almost everyone of the 7 but usually don't have them finished and posted in time to post them on her blog. But not this time. This challenge was perfect for me as I needed some inspiration for a thank you note for my neighbor, who is absolutely the best neighbor in the world. She is one of the top reasons we are considering adding onto our house instead of moving. Yes our neighbors really are that wonderful, they are like family.


Here is my card:

Supplies
Stamps: Signature Greetings, and Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Inks: Vintage Cream (PTI), Noir Black Palette
Vintage Cream, Spring Rain, and Hibiscus Burst cardstock (PTI)
Hibiscus Burst Vintage buttons (PTI)
Black wool felt (no idea of source, it was a scrap from my sewing box)
Scallop circle punch (SU!)
Flower Die (Sizzix)

I think it is safe to say Spring has finally arrived for North Carolina. The Bradford Pear trees along our neighborhood driveways are in full bloom which means there are 4 noses in our house that are completely stuffed with allergies. Oh well, I refuse to let that keep my windows sealed any longer. The fresh breeze blowing in is so refreshing and worth the daily doses of sudafed we are now taking.
And speaking of refreshing, I went with Ruthie and her preschool class on a field trip this week to a local farm. Ah it was so nice to just run around and play outside. And Ruthie rode a horse for the first time! It was so cool to see her just jump right up and completely feel at ease on this huge creature. I can't wait to enjoy riding with her more. Another mile marker for us this week was registering Ruthie for Kindergarten. Oh my goodness, I just can't believe it is time for that already. How big my girls are getting.
With all the fun stuff this week I only managed to snag a few minutes here and there to do a bit of stamping, but I wanted to participate in 2 challenges, so this one fits both.
First is the Poppy Seed Challenge from the very talented Lisa Johnson. This is Lisa's 2nd Poppy Seed Challenge she has issued. Unfortunately I didn't get to play along the first time (due to my incredible slackness), but I wasn't going to miss this one although I know I'm cutting it close by submitting it on the last day. *ETA: oops deadline was last night. Oh well next time I'm not going to wait to post. :)


Secondly is the Mojo Monday 131 . I loved the longer card style of the Mojo Monday sketch. And I have a ton of these longer envelopes left over from a previous project class I taught, so I'm always on the lookout for long card ideas.



And here is my card (click to enlarge):


Supplies:
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PTI), Aqua Mist (PTI)
Patterned paper is from Everyday Blessings paper pack (PTI)
Stamps: I can't remember the set name but it is from TAC from many years ago. Extras: Ribbon (Spring Moss PTI), Button (Aqua Mist PTI), tiny pearl (Kaiser craft), Ribbon tag die is from Spellbinders.

Ok I am in so much trouble! If you want to join me in drooling over so many yummy concoctions then you should definitely check out The Cupcake Project. I knew there was no hope of me not making these goodies, the only question was which to make first. Well I didn't have to look far into the posts to find my trial cupcake. The Margarita Cupcakes of course. So yesterday with the help of the girls we made them. Oooooooo, such a fabulous decision! And definitely a good choice for a Monday afternoon. :) I wish I could share these with others though because I'm in danger of eating the whole batch.

On another note, I was stamping and yet again forgot to post in time for the Compose A Card challenge. :(
Oh well. I had to make a cupcake card in honor of my new found yummies. Hmmm now what will be my next cupcake?

So I've been having fun playing with my stamps. ;) It has been a long time since I've just played, so to get my juices flowing I tried out Becky Oehlers Compose-A-Card Challenge. I wasn't thrilled with my final product and then to make matters worse the deadline for this particular contest was last night and my files wouldn't upload from my camera. So I didn't enter it but thought I'd post it anyway here since it did get me thinking about creating, and after all that was my goal. So here is what I made for CAC#3. Oh and I love how Becky puts a song up with each challenge! I could just listen to the Wicked soundtrack all day!


After making that card look what else I created:


And see those 2 teapots? I stamped those on some paper I made with my Distress Inks that have been in my ink cabinet forever and never used. I also have a red one from that same session but can't figure out a good card for it yet. Maybe it will make an appearance sometime soon. Anyway, that's all for today.

Ok just a quick post for today. I've been addicted for the past couple months to PTI (PaperTrey Ink) and just had to share my happiness with my latest purchase from them. They just released their new stamp images for Nov. and I had to get Teacher's Apple and Out Of The Box. I love these! Well I also ordered some paper and ribbons and the Out of the Box Sentiments and my wonderful yummy package came yesterday. :) I can't wait to create some things with them this weekend. Also they have some great challenges on the forums over there. Jen Caputo gave this awesome one a couple weeks ago and it included a great video! So I really wanted to use these TAC stamps and my bazzil bling paper so I never posted my creation over at PTI but here is what I did to play along.
Thanks Jen for a great challenge.

Ok I have to run pick Ruthie up at Preschool, but hopefully I will play with my new PTI stamps and be back later to share my creations.

Ah it is Friday, it is finally raining here, the girls are napping, and I got some time in this week to actually scrap. Check below for new layouts. Definitely a great week! I have tons of movies DVR'd (is that right or should it be DVRed?) and can't wait to have some downtime with Jamie tonight to kick back, relax and enjoy them. And since today is Friday, there is a new blog challenge up at the Sweet Shoppe blog. This week we are to share our plans for the Fourth of July that is next week. Well in my case since Independence Day is next week that means our anniversary is next week also! I just can't believe that next Thursday Jamie & I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage. It has been amazing to say the least. Jamie truly is my best friend and my rock. He balances my quirky high maintenance self with amazing love and kindness. He is a fabulous daddy and I just can't imagine life without him, and I hope I never do. I can not even begin to tell him how much I love and appreciate him. But to celebrate this great journey I have arranged for my wonderful inlaws to keep the girls for us and I've made reservations at Cooper's Landing for the night for July 3rd (Jamie has the 4th off but not the 6th, so we will just be celebrating early.) This place looks so wonderful, and I love staying in Bed & Breakfasts. We are reserved for the Vineyard Suite for the night, plus have reservations for dinner that night and the best part is we are the only guests (or at least we were when I made the reservation). So that means we won't have to share the jacuzzi. Oh and I also reserved the chocolate dipped strawberry platter, yummy! We had these at our wedding, but I never got to eat any, so now it is like a tradition that we have to get these on every anniversary to make up for that. LOL. I don't really know yet what we will do the following day for the 4th. We usually go to our community parade and then out to watch the fireworks, but I don't think we are going to rush back home for the parade this year nor do I know where we will see the fireworks (although I will make sure that we go see some - I love fireworks!) During the day we will probably do some local hikes or try to find some good local music, or check out some of the small town shops around the inn. Who knows. :)
And speaking of music, the other part of the blog challenge was to link up a You Tube video that makes me smile. So without a doubt that would have to be the OK Go guys singing Here It Goes Again on the treadmills. I just love this song and can't be in a crummy mood when I see this video or hear this song. So here ya go:

So the blog prompt for this week from the Sweet Shoppe is such a fun one. Here's a hint:


If I had a million dollars what would I do? Well the first thing I think of is the BNL (Bare Naked Ladies) song - and you seriously have to watch this. :) :

But realistically I actually do know what I'd do with it. First I'd finish paying off our debt, then we'd make the additions (plus a couple of extras) we want to make to our house, then I'd take our whole family (especially my in-laws) on a great vacation. I mean seriously we owe them big time for all they do every day for us. Yet I know they don't see it this way and would never consider us owing them anything. They are just fantastic people in that way. Then, we'd take the equivalent of Jamie's salary for 2 years and open up his own software consulting business and the rest of the money would go into savings. So there ya go. A bit of extravagance and a bit of practicality. That's me. :) If you're reading this, I'd love to know what you'd do with the money. :)

So I've gotten some time to scrap lately so I thought I'd just pop on here to show them.

This first one is for SSD's Cookie Decorating challenge and uses the new Songbird Avenue kit:


Credits

And this one uses Miriam's new Lolly Pop papers:

Credits

And this one shows off my little Ruthie:


Credits

Well I guess that's all for now. So I'm off to chase Ruthie some more and maybe get a little housecleaning done.

Look at me blogging twice on the same day. :) I completely forgot to add in my previous post about Sweet Shoppe's Blog to Blog challenge so here I am doing it in a new post because it really is an interesting one.

This week's was to blog about our favorite designer, kit, product, etc. Now it would be super easy to blog about the incredible Miriam Lima. She is just such a wonderful person as well as a talented designer, but since I'm on her CT I feel like that may be cheating a bit. So I decided to choose another designer to blog about. But of course that was so difficult because, well if you've been in the digi community even a short while you will realize that almost everyone you interact with is super incredible!

So I've chosen 2 designers to spotlight. :)
First is Meredith Fenwick. She was the first designer that I actually purchased from. And now I think I have almost all of her stuff. Plus she is half of the creative genius that is behind Songbird Avenue (see past blog entries) and I love the whole focus on charity that they have created there. Plus I just love her designs. I don't really "know" her and I'm sure she has no clue who I am but I'd love to be a guest CT for her.

Here's a LO I did with some of her designs (By the way, this super cute little girl is Sarah the daughter of Erica Webster (pne123) who is an amazing scrapper!)

Credits

Second is Jen Caputo. She is the template guru! I absolutely love her stuff! I knew of Jen from her days with The Angel Company (I'm also a demonstrator for TAC) and her amazing Caputo kits. So when I first started playing around with digi and I saw Jen in the forums and later found her great templates, actions, etc. I have become an even bigger fan. Not only are her templates amazing but she is also a fantastic scrapper. I'm always inspired when I look through her gallery or on her blog. And when I am really looking for some honest feedback and critique I know I can count on Jen to be real with me. Thanks Jen! And anytime you need a guest CT member I'd be thrilled to scrap for you. :) And here are some pages I've scrapped with Jen's fab templates:

So yesterday (well, I realize that it is now technically very early on Monday, but I haven't gone to bed yet so I'm still considering this Sunday, but at any rate yesterday here is referring to Saturday) was National Scrapbook Day and for a scrapper this is truly a wonderful event. I have celebrated NSD in the past as a traditional scrapper, but this was my first year celebrating as a digi-scrapper and I must say this year totally blew all of the others out of the water! I mean there were tons of sales online and seriously good deals to be had and I got the products immediately! Now those of you who know me know that I'm not a patient person, especially when I'm waiting for goodies to arrive so this was a huge plus to my shopping experience. :) Now add to the shopping bliss an entire day of chatting & cropping with the wonderful ladies at the Sweet Shoppe and it was perfect. So how much scrapping did I get done, weeellllllll not a lot, but I did do this LO that I'm really happy with for a speed scrap challenge:

Credits can be found here: http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/inspiration/showphoto.php?photo=5632

Also there is a cool lil survey on the SSD blog so here are my answers for that:

Q1: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

Oh man, I so don't want to give just one answer here. I'd love to travel everywhere! But if I were to pick just one area it would have to be the vacation that Jamie & I are planning now for next August. We will be going to Scotland & Ireland if all goes according to plan. :)

Q2: What cartoons do you absolutely detest & refuse to allow anyone to watch {be it child, spouse- haha, nieces/nephews.. etc just plain don’t want it viewed on your television)?

I have always detested Barney. I don't know what it is about the stupid looking dinosaur but I just don't like things/people that are so damn happy all the time and that laugh is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Q3: You just woke up, you’re a mess, haven’t showered, there are dishes in the sink.. There’s a knock at the door, what do you do?

Hmmmm. Am I wearing a bra? If so then no problem I just answer the door and hopefully just scare off whoever it is. If it is as it often is at my house when this occurs and I'm not wearing that much needed supporting device then I go into covert hiding mode and wait for them to leave.

Q4:When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thought that ran through your mind?

"I wonder what it will take to bribe the girls to go back to sleep for just 30 more minutes?"

Q5. Tell me a story about your Dad..

Oh I love my dad! He basically raised me by himself, well there was a stepmom in the house but she was pretty useless on most accounts. My dad is an auctioneer and so he'd take me with him every Fri & Sat night to the auctions and let me help him out. Sometimes he'd give me the item to show off to the crowds and sometimes he'd just hand me the mic and say "Show me how to sell this, Mandy." I loved those little moments when it was just the 2 of us.

Q6: You open your drawer, find 1 pink polka dotted sock and 1 black sock with reindeer on it.. Do you wear them together and hope no one sees them or go without socks today & hope your feet don’t get sweaty?

This is exactly why I have sandals! :) I'd much rather go without socks than go mismatched.

Q7: Are there any strange stains on your carpet, floor, walls, ceiling or couch? Do you know how they got there?

Well our living room carpet is pretty much just one big stain. LOL There is a particularly bad red one over by the girls' train table and this comes from my need for a nap one afternoon. Ella asks me if she & Ruthie can have a snack in the living room right as I was about to lay down for a quick nap on the sofa, so I said sure, just get something. Well when I woke up they had been eating red jello and totally spilled it everywhere. I can't believe how quiet they are when they are being destructive!

Q8: Are you neighbors annoying???

Hmmmm, not really. They pretty much stay to themselves. The family across the street though has 2 teenage boys that are a bit wild, but they don't bother us like they do other neighbors because we are the cool people on the street, Oh yeah! LOL

Q9: Are you a phone person.. if I called you right now would you chat with me? lol

Oh you bet! I love chatting as long as it isn't while I'm watching my Thursday night TV, that is the only night I watch TV and I hate getting interrupted.

Q10: What colour popsicle would you like.. Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue?

I'm not really a popsicle kinda gal. I'm more of a soft serve type. But if it has to be a popsicle I think orange would be the yummiest. I love citrus flavors!

So there you have it! My answers to Lauren's cool little survey. Now I'm off to bed.

So I decided to take a stab at another Creative Team. I know this sounds like a really foolish idea considering the list of songs that sum up my week from yesterday, but I'm such a sucker for templates. And Teresa Ferguson is looking for a few new people for her team. I just recently found her templates at the Sweet Shoppe and I am so hooked. That site has some awesome talent and I'd love to challenge myself in using templates. I so LOVE templates, but usually when I scrap with them I just plop in papers & photos and call it done. I think that if I were on a creative team for a template designer, I'd stretch myself to twist them up a bit. But they really are a great spring board for getting creative juices flowing. Just look, I started using one of Teresa's templates to make my CT application: Credits: Template: Teresa Ferguson (Smarties- Snack Pack3); Papers, ric rac, letter U, file tab, journal box, and brads: Suzy Nunes' Peppermint Tea (From SSD Quarterly Assortment); flower, leaves, and jewel brad on flower: Robin Carlton (Collaged Floral Alpha); Backwards Staples: Jenn Patrick; Photo Filter: Newspaper effect from Virtual Photographer; RubOn Action & Linen Textureplate: Atomic Cupcake; Drop Shadow Actions: Traci Murphy; Fonts: MA Sexy, juiceITC, jr!hand

And in the process of making it, I realized that although I love being on a CT, I really scrapbook and create for my family and myself. So I also did this layout:
Credits: Template: Teresa Ferguson (Smarties- Snack Pack3); Papers, ric rac, letter U, and journal box: Suzy Nunes' Peppermint Tea (From SSD Quarterly Assortment); flower, leaves, and jewel brad on flower: Robin Carlton (Collaged Floral Alpha); Photo Filter: Newspaper effect from Virtual Photographer; RubOn Action & Linen Textureplate: Atomic Cupcake; Drop Shadow Actions: Traci Murphy;Fonts: MA Sexy, juiceITC, jr!hand

I love the way it turned out. And I can't believe how quickly they went. I finished both layouts (shadowing and all) in under 30 min. :)

So I'm participating in the From Our Blog To Yours Challenge from Sweet Shoppe Designs (you can check out all of their cool challenges HERE) So here is my list:

1.) Running On Empty (Jackson Browne) - Just because no matter how early I get to bed, no matter how healthy I'm eating, and how much I'm exercising - I still just feel worn out. I have had zero energy this week

2.)Over My Head (The Fray) - Well considering that this challenge was in fact posted last Wednesday, and I'm just now getting to it..... I've just felt so overwhelmed by life lately. Caring for the girls, keeping the house in order, etc, etc, etc.

3.)Here It Goes Again (Ok Go) - Check out the video HERE. Are you starting to see a pattern here. :) I have to include this song because every time I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, the video of these guys on the treadmills pops into my head, & I start bopping around & singing this song. It just instantly cheers me up.

4.)The Bird (Eddie From Ohio) - OK beside the fact that this band is just awesome and we've loved them since our college days, and really no week is truly complete without a little EFO. This song just needs to be blared out loud when driving around the triangle. There are so many rude, inconsiderate, and just generally awful drivers in this area that I seem to encounter every time I go down I-40. And I absolutely hate it when a driver flashes me the bird. So this song is for them.

5.)We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are (Rich Mullins) - Because no matter how much I think I have it together (yes I do have weeks like that) I still know that I'm frail and imperfect. And just as a humorous note on this song, I've been doing a weightlifting class at the gym and since I increased my weights this week, I've been so painfully sore. Oh yeah, I'm definitely not as strong as I thought I was.

OK now I have to go get some more stuff done. Especially if I'm ever going to make that 20 Layout/ week goal. Hmmmm I wonder what song I could play for this? Maybe Zombie Zoo by Tom Petty, because if I just scrap all the time I will walking around like a zombie and my house will definitely look like a zoo.