5th Avenue Flower Pot

I've been wanting to make one of these flower pot cards for a while now - ever since they started popping up on blogs about a month ago. I finally had a chance to sit down and make one. I used Close to Cocoa cardstock and stamped it with the Sanded background in Chocolate chip ink.

I stamped the flowers from 5th Avenue Floral in black craft ink and used clear embossing powder. I watercoloured them using my ink pads - regal rose/rose red, so saffron, baja blue. I cut each one out and added some leaves cut using the little leaves sizzlet.

I love that this card is a little different, yet still fits in a standard envelope. Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate each and every one of you! Later taters!

Bella Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance!!

Welcome to the Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella.

While this hop is in honor of Em's birthday, my mother in law's birthday is Friday and I needed to create a gift for her. I decided to create some note cards for her (again inspired by Michelle Wooderson). I used Lauren's Desk Top Organizer from My Timeless Templates by Papertrey Ink. Here's the set:


For the card, I used Rumor Girls (Jamie/jaymerz made me get them!) - they are just so darn cute! Inside the card it reads "You're having a birthday". I layered a Label 1 nestie on top of the top note die and used some Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper.

The desktop organizer is made using Kiwi Kiss and Regal Rose cardstock and some more of the same Basic Grey paper.
Each card is a quarter sheet of Regal Rose cardstock. I tried to use the Bellas/Bugs that best suited my mother in law. There's a couple of each design included in the organizer.




And there you have it - hope my mother in law likes it! Hope you like it?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to LAURA'S. Have a great day!

Hey wait!! Before you go.....

How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Teacher Gifts

I apologize that this post is a little picture heavy but I wanted to show you what I made for my son`s teachers this year.

This is the card I made (gasp - I made the same one for each teacher!) using MFT`s new Teacher Label set. I paired it with some old patterned paper scraps (Basic Grey and Karen Foster) and some old ribbon (soft sky) and a button. I think they turned out super cute!


I ordered the Take Along Tote template from Papertrey Ink and decided to stuff it with movie snacks and a movie theatre gift certificate. So the outer pockets each have a bag of microwave popcorn, and the inner pocket has movie candy. I also created a card pocket for the card itself which also contained the gift card.

I made the first set using that same Basic Grey paper and the MFT Teacher Label set.

I decided to mix it up a bit for the second (and also because I needed to create something that was Stampin`Up only - lol!). I paired images from the And Many Mower set with So Saffron, Regal Rose and Parisian Breeze paper.






So there you have it! Hope they like them!

Hey guess what....there`s a Bella Blog hop on Thursday and I`m participating! Can`t wait to show you my Stamping Bella project in honour Em`s birthday (THE Stamping Bella!). See you then!

Father's Day Grilling

This is the Father's Day card I made for my hubby. I think I might have mentioned before that we own a couple of Barbecue stores, so I was over the moon when I saw this new set from My Favorite Things (Who's That Grillin' Guy). I paper pieced his apron and used Amy's tutorial to create the charcoal. The rest is pretty self explanatory - but let me know if you have any questions.

I also saw this idea on Kimberly Crawford's blog last week and couldn't wait to whip some up. I sent most of the batch to work with my hubby, and kept some for us. They were a big hit and super easy to make - my kids had a blast helping me. They are made out of Nilla wafers and other various ingredients. They are SUPER sweet!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend friends! I'll check back with you later in the week with my teacher gifts! Later taters!

Classmate goodies!

I whipped these up the other day for my son's classmates. Up here we're still in school - last day is on Thursday the 25th. Nothing says summer to me like Kool Aid does! I made these pockets by cutting cardstock to 4.25" x 8". Then I scored the long side at 2.5" and folded the cardstock. I laid the cardstock on the Top Note Die, with the fold not quite touching the bottom of the die and ran it through. I punched the folded edge with the scallop edge punch and adhered the two sides together. The fruit stamps are from the Tart and Tangy set and the sentiment is from And Many Mower. I coloured the inside of the Relax with my white gel pen. I think these turned out totally cute!
Hope you have a great weekend and have a wonderful time celebrating Father's Day! On Sunday I'll show you my Father's Day card! Later taters!!

Good Moms....

This was another of my VSN cards from last month. I bought this cute set while I was visiting Calgary - from a company called Darcies. I fell in love with it, even though it was a bit more than I usually spend on a set. I think the challenge this card was created for was that you had to make a card that was related to food. I believe I used a sketch from one of the sketch challenges over at Splitcoast. The paper is from MFT and the sentiment reads - Good Moms let you lick the beaters.... and the inside reads - Great Moms turn the mixer off first! Love that sentiment!

Anywho! Just a short post as we're just back from a carnival at ds's school and I need to squeek some of my contract work in before bed! I'll be back soon to show you the amazing RAK I received from my friend Kathy!

Baja in my Pocket!

This was one of the cards I made for VSN a couple of weeks ago over at Splitcoast Stampers. We were given a sketch (which I promptly flipped) and 45 mins. to create a card. I stamped the images from Pocket Silhouettes directly onto the Parisian Breeze designer paper for some added interest. I used the Polka Dot background stamp in Baja Breeze on the Kraft cardstock, and I selectively inked the sentiment so that I could fit it onto my panel. Pretty simple - it needed to be for under 45 mins.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We're super busy here - lots of school stuff going on before we wrap up at the end of June, and lots of summer planning! Later taters!

One Click Name Frame

I can't believe it's new release time again over at MFT! From the sneak peeks I see that they're releasing a Who's That Guy set all about grilling, or barbecuing as us Canucks refer to it! That excites me since we are part owners of 4 bbq stores - these stamps will definitely be right up my alley!

MFT runs a contest right before the release giving someone the chance to win the entire release. This month the challenge was to use chipboard. I had these Basic Grey alphabet pieces in my stash and decided to get a head start on a birthday gift for my daughter's best friend.

I coloured the chipboard using craft white ink and then covered it in clear embossing powder (it was taking too long to dry and I was impatient!). The paper is from Cosmo Cricket (Girl Friday collection). I cased my friend Kathy's idea to make poppies out of the circles from the Build a Bouquet set.

I stamped the grass from the Hooga Booga set repeatedly and cut it out twice. I stamped and cut out Isabelle and stamped a second layer to her tutu on vellum. The bunny is also stamped on vellum - he was facing the wrong way, so I stamped him coloured him, and flipped him over. I touched him up with a black marker, and he's now looking in the right direction! The butterflies were stamped, coloured, and cut out. I embossed them with irridescent ice embossing powder so they are all glittery and pretty! They're each two layers with the top layer folded up for dimension.

Hope Paige likes it! Oh, the frame was originally fake wood ($5 at Walmart) but I spray painted it white to match. Have a goodie!

Sweet Celebration

Last week was the finals for MFT Idol and I wanted to play along. There was no assigned theme - just a free week to do whatever you wished. I had spotted this container of ice cream toppings at the grocery store a while ago and snapped it up, figuring it would be great for the summer. I decided to create an ice cream sundae set - as a surprise for my son's last day of school. I figure we'll celebrate by making gourmet ice cream sundaes!

I used some old Doodlebug patterned paper, cardstocks, and sugar coated cardstocks from my stash. I created a topper for the container lid and made a matching card, paper piecing one of those adorable Hooga Boogas.

I covered the sundae cup with Crystal Effects and the cherry with Stickles. You can really see how that sugar coated cardstock sparkles!

Here's the whole set. I even stamped on these ice cream cups that I found for cheap at our local party supply store.

I used the Bling Bet and stazon ink for the cups. I think my kids will get a really kick out of them!

Well I hope you're having a great weekend! Later taters!

Birthday Notecards

A friend of mine celebrated a birthday last week and I wanted to make her something that she could use. I decided on a set of notecards a la Michelle Wooderson. These are simply a quarter of an 8.5x11 page and are meant for sending notes to teachers, etc... I used some Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper along with Kiwi Kiss and Purely Pomegranate cardstock. The LA on the cards are my friends initials and are stamped with MFT`s Bling Bet in Kiwi Kiss and Purely Pom. ink.
The box is a template designed by Lauren Meader and sold by Papertrey Ink under the name My Timeless Templates. This particular one is the Desk Top Organizer and was super simple to put together.
Happy Hump Day!! Hope you`re having a great week!

MFT Finals!

Well it`s down to the finals!! The final two contestants for MFT Idol have uploaded their projects and voting has started! My friend Kathy is in the final two and I am so proud of her and overjoyed for her! I know some of you were following my entries and I thought I`d pass this along in case you haven`t seen it!

Voting is a little different for the finals, but if you qualify, would you consider voting for her amazing project. You can see the projects here.

Here are the rules:

Your vote will count IF:
*There is only one vote per Splitcoast User Name. If there is more than 1 vote, only the first vote will count.
*The Splitcoast User Name casting the vote was created BEFORE March 15th, 2009.

All votes will be private messaged (PM'd) to the Splitcoast user name MFT Votes starting on May 26th at 10 PM Eastern and ending on May 27th at 10:00 PM Eastern

There's a lot up for grabs, and we want to make sure that the voting process is fair for everyone. Since the original intent was that the IDOL be selected by our MFT/SCS Family, we are implementing safeguards to make sure the IDOL is selected by fellow stampers!

Quilted Comfort

This is a card I made for VSN last weekend on Splitcoast. The challenge was to use a grid technique as well as sponging on your card. I decided to use my Quilter's Sampler set from PTI and simply stamped various quilt blocks on SU's Parisian Breeze paper and punched them out with a square punch. I arranged them randomly and adhered them to a piece of cardstock. I sponged around the entire block as well as around the entire card. I love that this card looks labour intensive, but took less than 45 mins. to make.
Happy Memorial Day weekend to my American friends - hope you're having a wonderful holiday! We've had a busy weekend of yard work, bike riding, a bit of shopping, and lots of family time. Talk to you later taters!!

Win a Blog Revamp!

Since the beginning of my blog, I've used one of Gisele Jaquenod's free blog templates. I LOVE them and have used quite a few different ones over the years. Gisele's offering up a chance to win a free blog revamp - details are on her blog here.

Sketchy Ladybug!

I made this card last weekend during VSN over at Splitcoast. The challenge was to make a red and black card (and it was o.k. to use white as well!). Red and black always make me think of ladybugs, so I grabbed my Little Lady set from Papertrey. I pulled some old Basic Grey paper (Aged and Confused) and the red pattern paper is Scenic Route. I stamped the ladybug in Riding Hood red ink on shimmery white paper. I also pierced the trail, although you can't quite tell from the picture. I used Taylor's sketch challenge 68 for the layout although I think the panel was supposed to tuck under the scalloped edge - oh well!! I loved making these quick cards for VSN - 45 mins. was the limit to make your card. Having the sketch and colours chosen made it super fast!
It's beautiful here today! 29 degrees Celsius (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit). It finally feels like summer is around the corner! Enjoy your day my friends!!

Polka Dots Gone Wild!!

So MFT has changed up their new releases a little and their ambassador challenges now occur before the release. My friend (and fellow canuck) Julie is hosting these challenges over in the MFT forum on Splitcoast. This month's challenge was to use lots of polka dots and there are definitely lots of polka dots on this card! One of my good friends just got given a laptop and is over the moon excited. It's been a while since I've sent her a card, so I wanted to go with this image because it's exactly what she'll look like with her new laptop!!
I paper pieced the entire image. And when I say paper pieced - I did it the "Joanne" way - making sure all the layers sit on top of each other in the right order. Sometimes I'm lazy and would put the layers on top of the image and not worry that the legs were on a layer lower than the couch. But I heard Joanne in the back of my mind and even paper pieced the arms and legs! I thought about giving the girl chicken pox - but that was taking the polka dots just a touch too far (even to me!).

Hope you're having a great week so far! Later taters!