I know everyone is sick and tired of seeing red white and blue, but what about pink, white and pink? ;)  Here is my soft and gilrlie approach to the Fourth!  If you want to participate in the soft and girlie challenge, just add yours to splitcoast under keyword: ssnotime42!

Stamps: Kitchen Sink Stamps: Playful Stars, Swirly Hearts and Stars, Ready 4 Any Holiday

Paper: Papertrey Ink: Berry Sorbet, Stampers Select White

Ink: PTI Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush Palette Noir

Check out what the other girls have done!

Tammy Hershberger

Jennifer Buck

Dee Jackson

Sharon Johnson

Julie Koerber

Janine Orchard

Wow!  Just got back last night from a fantastic vacation with my kids and hubby!  We surprised them and took the kids to Disney.  We went to the Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and back to the Magic Kingdom.  It was really nice.  On the way home we went to the Shenanadoah Valley and saw Luray Caverns.  Just incredible.  Then Emma really wanted to go to Mt. Vernon, so we stopped there on our way home.  It has changed SO much since I was there in High School.  What a great learning center it has become.  I highly recommend it to anyone who is planning a trip on the East Coast or for people like me who live here already.  Very informative in an engaging way.  All I can say is MAN…what they can do with new theaters nowadays!!  It actually snowed in a film we saw about Washington!!  All of these new effects were in Disney as well.  Just amazing.  I think the best part of the trip though was listening to my girls in the backseat.  I just loved hearing their conversations, and what they have picked up from having talks with us.  This one was my favorite:

Emma:  Jesus was Jewish.

Sophie: He was?

Emma: Yeah…he was King of the Jews.

Sophie:***silence***  Did He believe in Himself?

Wow Soph…that was deep!  Well, our kids obviously listen when we talk to them about differences in religions!  I have to say…I told her that that was a very good question! 

This new Plum Pudding by PTI is knocking me out! The deepness of the purple is quite stunning..especially with black. Here is a card I did using strictly plum pudding, black and white:

I softened up the picture a little so you could see the score lines. Here is another card using “Flower Garden” by Lisa Johnson with the same color combo except this time I added spring moss to the mix:

Stamping with black right on the plum pudding ribbon is a real pop in real life. Those are the tear shaped rain dots in the center of those petals. They are a perfect fit!

I think the name of this set is the coolest name ever. Maybe it is the alliteration I love so much, but it actually feels like a strong name as well and nothing could be nicer for a set about houses. SO…I can’t wait to play with this set some more. I have made some more cards with it and I will share them soon, but right now I will share with you my project for this month. Some kitchen towels for a gift that I will actually be giving to a new neighbor this week! Enjoy!

As I share with you my new projects for Papertrey for this month, I am reminded time and time again how much Nichole’s style of designing sets just brings out the best in me. When I see beautiful stamps like this with such wonderful pattern opportunities. I really feel like I connect with these types of styles so much because I grew up seeing so many gorgeous cathedrals, stone work and tiles. It is seared into my memory. These beautiful patterns which I still to this day marvel at every time I step into a new church to sing. I find myself (unfortunately most times during the message, because that is when I am not working) just turning my head and staring at the woodwork or stonework. Memorizing patterns, finding the comfort and beauty in the hand-crafted work. Appreciating the hours and years spent to perfect each and every turn and cut. This is where I find such peace. In the appreciation of the effort it took to create such beauty for the glory of God.

Guide Lines is now available at PaperTrey Ink. It is such a beautiful set, I urge you to take a look.

This set is just down right lovely, no? I just love birds, and know they are all the rage right now. I love a lot of bird sets out there right now. From cartoony to elegant, they just do something for me! I love how Candice made use of the pure silhouette images. They are also small, so you will have oom to do several on one card. What really puts me over the top is the birds nest and eggs though! Of course, Papertrey’s Aqua Mist is the perfect color for those robin eggs! When making my birds nest card, I went for a very monocromatic look so I went with gray on the eggs. I wanted a lot of the vellum to show to mimic the transparency of the eggs. I also added bits of the Martha Stewart twine onto the nest itself to give a feel of real twigs.

So I am totally hoping you are going to love how this turned out as much as I do. I almost wish I weren’t going on vacation. This lack of teaching is seriously boosting my mojo around here! I had to pull this beauty of a stamp set out (Sweet Love) when I saw this paper in the store. it is like they were made for each other! Hope you like my little stationery set.

I just took the 12×12 paper and wanted to make the best use of these lovely scallops. Basically…I didn’t want to cut it…and I DIDN’T! I scored the paper at 5 inches and 7 inches, then turned it and scored at 2 inches and 10 inches. then I cut the slits in the middle and pulled up both sides. Voila, done!

Supplies:

Stamps: Sweet Love

Paper: Vintage Cream, Creative Imaginations “Narrative” Berry Sorbet

Ink: Black Stazon

Ribbon: Berry Sorbet Twill

Well…Lisa Johnson has made a fantastic debut with her set “Flower Garden” and “Flower Garden Sentiments” to the Papertrey arsenal! I have a couple of more projects from this set half done on my desk and I can’t wait to share them with you. There are so many combinations you can make using this set. Here is some of what I came up with. Hope you like it.

The patterns you can make with this set are endless. The leaf and stem stamp is my favorite for these patterns. I used the stem stamp and did not ink up the entire stem, allowing it to be repeated with ease and stacked perfectly for the first card. In the second card, the little leaf stamp made for a wonderful faux grass. I have also used this leaf stamp in a different project I will show you when I get home from vacation. YES…

I am going on vacation starting Thursday for 2 weeks. BUT…COME VISIT THE BLOG STILL! I have posts that have been scheduled, so the blog will be updated and you can see more of my release projects as well as a couple of other goodies, so don’t think I am leaving you! We are surprising the kids and taking them to Disney World after school lets out. They have never been, and neither have I, so any hints on how to navigate this vacation would be great and welcomed! Have a great day!

I am always excited when a new release rolls around. I get busy creating, but each month comes so fast, I feel like I neglect some of the older ones…so today I decided on doing a really cute project using the 6×6 Bitty Baby Blessings paper and Boxes, Bags and Tags and Favor it Baby. Now you may think this is a baby project…but you are wrong. These stamps can be used for more than just Baby shower gifts. I took this beautiful bar of soap…

And wrapped it to make a great gift for a friend as a thank you or anything else really! See…these stamps are for more than just babies!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink: Boxes Bags and Tags, Favor it Baby Paper: Bitty Baby Blessings Patterned paper. Ink: Plum Pudding Ribbon: Plum Pudding stitched grosgrain