Help vote for me!

I need your help! I was selected to participate in a layout contest on Practical Scrappers, so I need you to vote for my layout! My layout is the first layout in this post. all you have to do is go to the bottom of the post and vote - nothing fancy! I would love to make it to the next round! Thanks for helping!
http://www.practicalscrappers.com/2012/01/layout-contest-group-5_17.html

Here's a card I cased from the UStamp online class.  I changed up the colors to make it more colorful.  The original card was crumb cake and whisper white.  I decided to go with Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, and Wisteria Wonder.  Loved the color combo and the way it looked after I was finished.   Best of all, it's faux stitching! Very simple!

Stamps:  Elementary Elegance

Ink:  Island Indigo

Paper:  Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, and Wisteria Wonder

Accessories:  Uniball White Signo gel pen, Simply Scored, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Butterfly embosslit, basic pearls

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.....

First, a sweet little picture of my big old bump.  We have 2 1/2 months until Baby Owen arrives, so I thought this would make a cute little picture for the album.

Here is a little coupon book.....ways I love you book.....money holder.....whatever use you would like pocket book!  I think we will make this on Sunday at our club meeting.  It was a great way to use the Petite Pocket die cut in a different way than normal. 

I got the idea for this book from the Louisville regional Stampin' Up conference I attended.  They used a different stamp set that I didn't have.  As much as I loved the stamp set they used....I wasn't going to buy it just for one project.  I am the kind of person who just uses what they have to fix my projects up.  So, with that being said, I used this stamp set, P.S. I Love You, from the mini catalogue.  It had such a variety of valentine stamps, I just really liked it. 

I kept everything pretty much the same.  The last card I made I added the large heart stamp.  I first colored it with my Blushing Bride marker.  Next, I added some Cherry Cobbler hearts with my Cherry Cobbler marker.  I finished by thumping my Soft Suede marker around the edge of the heart.  I like the way it kind of defines the border.

Stamps:  P.S. I Love You

Ink:  Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede

Paper:  Blushing Bride, Soft Suede, Vanilla confetti paper

Accessories:  Trinket Keys, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, 1" square punch, Bitty Scallop Circle punch, silver brads, Petite Pocket die cut

Thank you cards for my online customers

I have had a few online orders in the last weeks, so I thought I should make nice little cards to send them to say thanks.  I had these simply sent cards that I have had for a year or two.  They were just too pretty to use!  This is my New Year's resolution - there is no such thing as too pretty to use!

So....I decided to stamp the thanks from the Outlined Occasions stamp set on the outside in Soft Suede ink and colored it in with my Crushed Curry marker.  I added a few small star punches with Soft Suede scraps.  To finish it off, I topped of the tiny stars and the middle punched star with Illuminate Smooch Top Coat - neat and clean shimmer!

Here is the inside of the card - again - love that this stamp set provides an easy way to continue on to the inside of the card.  You don't have to do much - just add a little something!

Sale-a-Bration starts January 24! 

SAB sneak peek!

Here is a preview of one of the whimsical stamp sets in the Sale-a-Bration catalogue.  It is called Sprinkled Expressions.  Very fun and super easy to use!

For this card I decided to use the Big Top Birthday DSP.   It seems like a fun, whimsical stamp set to use with this paper - a natural match! 

You'll notice I pierced holes around the edge of the 2 3/4" white square after I stamped the flower. 

Remember - starting January 24, you can get this stamp set and loads of other products for FREE with EVERY purchase of $50 or more!!!

Stamps:  Sprinkled Expressions

Ink:  Tempting Turquoise

Paper:  Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Big Top Birthday DSP

Accessories:  Real Red Satin Ribbon, Paper Piercing tool and Mat Pack 

A Year in Review MDS Album

I am an avid lover of My Digital Studio.  While I'm not the kind to make all of my scrapbooks digitally, I love the ease of making pages digitally.   I love the fact that I can print digital albums out and they only take a minimal amount of space on my bookshelf!  I love that they are very portable.  And, I LOVE that I can find templates on my Stampin' Up website that have pre-made albums that I can customize to my own liking.  It makes the time it takes to make an album much shorter and it also allows me to change things if I don't like them or if I just need to change sizes! 

I will say that I am NOT a computer guru....not a photoshop gal - way too over my head!  But, I am definitely an MDS gal.  So, enough of my silliness - enjoy a year in review album that I made over the weekend.   :)

One Card, 3 Ways

I saw a similar card on UStamp this weekend and just adored the watercoloring on the card. I loved the simplicity of the layout and the stunning results, so I decided to re-create the card with my own versions. This time, I decided I would make 3 versions of the card - just to see how they turned out differently.

Essentially all of the cards are the same - the same measurements, same stamps, same basic color scheme. The colors obviously change, the embossing folder changes, and the method of coloring changed for each card.

For this card, I used my traditional method of coloring - starting with the ink in the lid of my stamp pad and my blender pen and AquaPainters.  I colored the flowers with Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze, leaves with Pear Pizzazz.  I went back over each with Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, and Island Indigo. 

So, here is where I tried a new technique.  I wasn't really sure if I liked this at first, but I think with a final glance, I really like it.  In this method I used the same exact colors.  This time, though, I started with the brush end of my Stampin' Write markers and outlined each edge of the images.  I then took my blender pen and Aqua Painter and pushed the color around until the image was sufficiently filled.  It's a great way to use your Stampin' Write markers and get a beautiful effect!

And, finally, I couldn't resist playing with my Copic Markers while I was waiting on my watercolors to dry!  The colors don't match up completely because they are not Stampin' Up, but they have a nice smooth effect.  I stuck with pretty basic colors here, though, so I could keep it from clashing.  Oddly enough, it's my hubby's favorite card of the three.  Probably since it's grey!!

So, tell me - which card is your favorite card?

Stamps:  Bordering on Romance

Ink:  StazOn, Memento, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, old Olive, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Copic markers

Paper:  Watercolor Paper, Basic Grey, Island Indigo, Blushing Bride, Twitterpated DSP, Neenah

Accessories:  Blender Pen, Aqua Painters, Elegant Lines Embossing folder, Flower Garden embossing folder, Manhattan Flower embossing folder

From my heart to yours treat box

First, let me give a little woot, woot!  One of my cards was featured in the Papercrafter's Library newsletter this week!  I was pretty excited about that!

So, I guess it's only appropriate to tell you that I found a template for this little treat box in the Papercrafter's Library. 

I switched all of the paper and pieces to Stampin' Up products and made my own version of their box.  It was really a small area to work with on the front, so I didn't change it up too much.   I used the new Twitterpated line from the mini catalogue for this box.  Can you tell it is my favorite new paper?  I am working on a bit of a resolution, though, which is not to hoard my pretty papers and not use them!  So, sorry...you're kind of stuck with it for a while!  

Here is a little bit of a side view.  I cut through each layer separately with the Hearts Framelits - they are only made to go through one layer at a time, so I didn't want to push it!  I just cut through one layer, adhered it to the next, lined it up again and repeated until I got all three layers done!  It's a nice way to add a window in a project like this without being limited by a punch.

Stamps:  P.S. I Love You

Ink:  Basic Grey

Paper:  Blushing Bride, Basic Grey, Riding Hood Red, Twitterpated DSP

Accessories:  Word Window Punch, Modern Label punch, Hearts framelits, Twitterpated buttons, paper flowers, Blushing Bride smooch spritz, basic pearls