Love Always...

This is a wedding guest book that I put together for my Aunt Linda and Bill's upcoming wedding. It was actually alot of fun to do and not that hard. A HUGE thank you to Jennifer of Jennifer's Sweet Designs for this idea and for helping me with instructions.

I'm also going to enter this in the OCC Challenge this week, which is "Monochromatic Mania" My guestbook has different shades of green in it.

STAMPS: CTMH "Love Always" and "Key To My Heart"

INK: CTMH "Garden Green" and archival ink

EMBELLISHMENTS: CTMH pearls

Place Card Markers - SASSC34 Challenge

Good morning! As some of you know, we have a family wedding coming up on Thanksgiving wknd. I'm amazed at how well everything has come together so quickly. We're even having a turkey dinner! It's going to be perfect. So, for the dinner, the children are all having 'half' portions and of course, my nephew is having chicken nuggets and fries (lol), his favourite. So, my Aunt asked me to come up with something to distinguish which children get which plates, so the servers can clearly see and don't have to ask. I got this idea from Ann at Raindrop Echo Designs. You should also pop over and see her work. She's very talented! Unfortuntely, I didn't have any place cards to work with, but I did have the sleeve from the invitation, (the place cards are the same as the invitation) so I matched my CS to the green in the invites and these little guys will just click onto the top. I cut a slit in the top so it sits right. I did all the girl's in the scalloped circle and my nephew's is the scalloped square. Let me know what you think! I'm also entering this into last week's Fresh Batch challenge.

This is actually the one I had started with...funny how you wake up the next day and think, wow, that is NOT what I was trying to create!!

Winner AND "Play Along" Monday's Challenge #10 - Friendship!

Good morning!! Thank you all for playing along last week! Winner, chosen by RANDOM.ORG is...True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

KATIE TATE! Congrats, Katie!! And WOW on entering 1 card in 19 challenges!! Pls email me with your address so I can get your goodies out to you!

Now on to THIS week's challenge, Friendship!




I actually did this card up using a Card Kit that was a monthly campaign for CTMH, so it's no longer available. Let's see what you can come up with! Remember to add a DIRECT link in Mr. Linky so we can come visit your blog and see what you created. Thank you for playing along!

There's Still Time!

Just a reminder, there's still time to play last week's challenge! A new one will be posted tmw!

Check Out The New Releases!

If you're already a Stamping Bella fan or you haven't visited her site yet, check out all the new releases!! I think you'll like what you see! Some really cute stamps, tons of stuff!

Patience Is A Virtue....HELP!

This is my gazebo as I found it this morning...hmmm, wonder what happened to the curtains? Where did they go??? Good thing it's on the back wall, so really not a huge visual thing, unless you're sitting inside looking at the wall..lol

Hmmm, here's my curtains, on the deck, looking a little worse for wear!?
And the culprit is....RILEY!

I love my dog, I love my dog, I love my dog, but PLS help me get thru this puppy stage! I couldn't believe it when I went out and saw him laying on the deck all wrapped in my gazebo curtains! He even KNEW as soon as I came that he was in BIG trouble!! Thing is, I'm not sure what to do? I don't want to crate him because that's where he goes when we leave, so I don't want to have him not want to be in it, make sense? So what to do? I got mad and told him he was BAD! He's never really chewed anything. We have all our furniture and shoes in tact, he's always been pretty good. He'll be a yr old the end of November, why would he start this now?? Anyone have any advice to share??? He is cute though, isn't he. Lucky for that I tell ya!

Simon Says - Follow A Recipe!

This week over on Simon Says Stamp Challenges, we had a recipe to follow!

• 3 embellishments
• 2 papers
• 1 image

I found this one quite fun! You have till Wednesday to enter this one before another one is posted! I used my friend Kelli's magnolia stamp, snowflakes, ribbon and a little bling on Alfie's pants. Paper is from CTMH.

Thank You! P.A.M & FBW Challenge Entry!

Hello! I did this card up for 2 challenges.

1. Flutter By Wednesday #75 - use a butterfly or fairy and sparkle!
2. Play Along Monday #9 - 1 ribbon, 2 eyelets, 3 colors

It's hard to see in the photo, but the top (cream) butterfly is all in glitter. You may be able to see it more if you click the image to enlarge it. The stamps are both from Michaels and the paper is CTMH "That's Amore". I just love the colors!

"Play Along" Monday's Challenge #9 - Recipe Challenge!

Good morning! Congrats to last week's winner, SallyB! This week's challenge is a recipe challenge. You are to use the following:

• 1 piece of ribbon
• 2 eyelets
• 3 different colors (this can be 3 different colors of paper, ink, whatever you like! You can even do your ribbon and eyelets in 3 different colors!!)

Remember to post a direct link in Mr Linky below to your post in order to be eligible for a goodie bag! Winner TBA next Monday morning before the next challenge! If you don't have a blog but would like to enter, just email me your creation!

PS: My project will be posted later today!

And The Winner Of P.A.M # 8 Is....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

#4 belongs to SALLYB!! Congrats, Sally! Please email me your address so I can get your goodies out to you!

Don't Forget! You still have time to enter last Monday's challenge!

I have to admit, I cheated with this one, as I posted this a while back, but it's one of my fav LO's of my kid's when they were smaller. Andrew was teaching his little sister how to be a Bug Hunter. I just love the shot of their little hands together.

You still have time to play and be entered to win a goodie bag!! If you would like to enter, click here! I'll be drawing a winner of the goodie bag on Monday morning.

Tea Bag Holder ~ OCC Challenge, Yummy Color Combo!

This week over at Our Creative Corner Challenges, they have a Color Combo challenge!! Reminds me of Neopolitan Ice Cream! Colors are light pink, hot pink, white and chocolate chip! I wanted to do something different, so I went and checked out Project Tuesday and found a cute project called Project Tuesday - A Tea Bag Holder. How cute is this project!! So I incorporated my little stamped image from Stamps and Smiles and matched it to a paper pack from CTMH and voila!! This is a gift for someone, but I'll have to tell you at another time as this 'person' chk's out my blog! LOL! Want to try one yourself? Click the link to Project Tuesday and you'll find everything you need as well as amazing samples from the PT Design Team!

EDIT: I can now tell you who I gave this to! My aunt is getting married on Oct 11 and she has been working very hard to make it all come together in a very short time. We've all been helping out as well. So, I thought it was time for her to sit back, relax and enjoy a hot cup of tea. I also now have an order for these little guys as well! I'm going to mix and match and make some for tea, some for hot chocolate etc. Stay tuned for more samples!

STAMP: "Cuppy Love" from Stamps and Smiles

PAPER: "That's Amore" from CTMH

RIBBON: Stamps and Smiles

EMBELLISHMENTS: Glitter and fun flock from CTMH

Happy Holidays - Magnolia Week #23 - Bev's Sketch

Hello there! This is my entry for this week's sketch challenge over at Just Magnolia: Week #23, Bev's Sketch My friend, Kelli, let me stamp this stamp and he's just a cutie! I added a little glitter here and there and the paper is from CTMH.

STAMP: Magnolia (Alfie, I think?), Stampin' Up! Happy Holidays
PAPER: CTMH "Evensong"
RIBBON: CTMH
TAG: Martha Stewart

Shy Bear - Feel Better Soon!

I decided to try my hand at Kelli's little matchbox idea and decided to go with a "Feel Better Soon" as I've been a little under the weather the last couple days. I just played around with the measurements to make it work for me and used one of my new Shy Bear stamps. The first photo is the finished project. I added a little sticker across the bottom to cover the staples.

Hallowe'en Matchbox

Good morning! I wanted to share this little project that my friend Kelli came up with for our little make and take at our last scrapbook club night. She can't remember exactly where she found it, but isn't it cute? Here's the measurements if you want to try it yourself:

• CS - 3"x6"
• Scor @ 1/2", 3/4", 3 1/4" and 3 1/2"
• Patterned paper - 2 1/2" x 2 3/4"
• CS (inside pc) - 2.5"x 2 3/4"
• 1" circle on the front and the ribbon makes your bat!
• tiny hole punch makes your eyes, should you choose to add them!

We used liquid glass to adhere everything together and the little staple at the bottom also holds the peppermints for a little added support (they're adhered w/liquid glass in the middle)

Now it's your turn! Don't forget, you can adjust the measurements to make a little hot chocolate holder, tea holder, whatever you like!

What A Crazy Week & A Half!

Anyone else out there a SAHM and finding yourself VERY busy right now? I tell ya, the last week and a half, I feel like I'm running non-stop! With getting back into the school routine, new daycare hours/routine's (I do home daycare), I am finding I don't have time to sit for 10 min's. I'm off tonight to my cousin's to work on wedding invitations, so I won't get a card on here today, but I am setting a goal to get on here tmw! I have my favourite challenges that are up and coming and I haven't entered them yet! I'm hoping I can play catch up and get something entered. Hope everyone is having a great day. My little (13 yr old) man is home sick already from school today as well. And to top it off, Ashleigh and I start a Parent/Youth Yoga class next Monday night! Busy, busy, busy!!

Oh, and here's what else has been going on here! Just call me Ellie May! Our (120lb, 9mth old) puppy, Riley, had his first skunk encounter last Thursday. The skunk was on our deck, although we have no idea how (do they climb??) and Riley happened to come across him. Didn't bark or anything. Hubby was out on the deck ('round the back, thank goodness) when he heard the "ppppssssssshhhh" I'm in bed and all I hear is "Karen!!!!! YOUR dog got sprayed! Help!" Great. So out of bed I get. Well, I can't tell where the stink is coming from it was so bad. Turns out Riley got overspray, bc it was just on his chest and legs, but our AC unit and side deck?? OMGosh!!! It is nasty! So I've done the peroxide/baking soda and now I've done the bleach/water solution on the deck/AC unit. It still smells, but not so bad. Our darling (so called indoor, has no front claws) cat has been getting out and turns out, she's a heck of a hunter, but she brings everything IN! We're talking mice and SNAKES. Yes, SNAKES! So far I've had to get 3 of them out of my house. You should have seen me. The first time, I called Andrew, the 2nd time, I was alone and screaming (LOL!) the third time, the snake was slithering across my darn floor! EWW! Out came the broom. What a crazy week and a half it's been here. Anyone wanna trade???

Winner & A New Play Along Monday Challenge #8, Fall Leaves!

Winner for last week is:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2

Danni! Congrats Danni! I'll add your goodies in with your catty today! Thank you to all who participated.

This week's challenge is to use fall leaves on your project! If you don't have anything with leaves, feel free to just use fall colors and improvise. I don't have time to do my card yet, as I have a busy day today, but I will get one on here tonight! Winner of this week's challenge will be chosen by random.org next Monday and receive a goodie bag! Have fun! Be sure to link your POST to Mr Linky so we can all come and see it.

The BIG Yellow Bus & My LITTLE Nephew

Good morning! School started for us last Tuesday. My sister and her family will be moving up closer to me in December, so I offered to help out with getting my nephew back and forth to his new school, so he wouldn't have to transfer later. So, last week, he started his new school. First day, not so good..he doesn't do well with change, but it was all very confusing. Mom and dad dealt with that one. Wednesday, I drove him for the first time. He wasn't on a bus route yet. A little bit better, still a little confusing. Thursday and Friday, I drove him/picked him up, MUCH better!! So, today we started the bus routine. I tell ya, I was trying VERY hard to be excited about the bus. My nephew is only 6 yrs old, started a new school last week, now it's time for something else and he was very nervous all wknd and my sister said there was some tears. Well, that big yellow bus came around the corner and my little nephew turns and says "Auntie Karen, I'm not scared anymore." I darn near cried right there. So, away he went on the big yellow bus and he had asked if I would follow it to school. So I did. I could see his little head peering out the window watching everything that was going on, all the way to school. So when he got off the bus, he looked for my van, saw me and gave me a HUGE grin and a BIG wave and the tears started. I tell ya, that child surprises us all sometimes!! I couldn't wait to get home and let my sister and brother in law know that Hayden did fantastic as they were so worried about him. We're all very proud!

Hayden, Auntie Karen is so very proud of you! You did an awesome job today, big guy!!!! Love you!!!!!

Boy, what an emotional time this school stuff is! This reminds me of when my guys started! My daughter is now in gr 4, but she cried and cried when she took the bus and she cried every day in JK until Oct. That's when they sent a note home saying "Ashleigh had her first tear free day today! YAY Ashleigh"! Of course, that's in her scrapbook!!!!!

You Are My Sunshine ...

Here's another card using the Sept SOTM -Treasure's. I really love this stamp set! This particular card is 8"x3.5" long and the pattern is from our Wishes book. My first time trying this one out. Looks really pretty. I used the same versamark/inking/embossing technique as yesterday on this one as well. I also sponged around the embossed images with blush ink. All materials are CTMH.

STAMP: Sept SOTM - Treasure's

PAPER: "Paper Garden"

INK: Petal, Sweet Leaf and Blush

EMBOSSING: Heat gun, clear embossing powder

PATTERN: Wishes "Sentiment Wave"

September Stamp Of The Month - "Treasures"

Good morning! I was looking for some inspiration and idea's this morning and I came across Helen's blog. She's also a fellow CTMH consultant. Well, did I find some inspiration AND a tutorial on how she did her card! You'll have to pay her a visit. Her work is very good! So, I tried my hand at embossing and stamping. For complete instructions, click on her name and you'll be taken to her tutorial. I can't wait to try this with some other stamps!!

STAMP: CTMH September SOTM - Treasures

PAPER: Michaels

INK: CTMH Sunflower Yellow and Crystal Blue

EMBOSSING: Heat gun and clear embossing powder

TECHNIQUE: Using versamark and ink together!

Don't Forget!

Don't forget to play along in this week's "Play Along" Monday's Challenge! You'll have a chance to win a goodie bag!!

Let's Catch A Butterfly! FBW #74

Good afternoon! Well, here's my first attempt at my new "Shy Bear" line! This one is called "Butterfly Catcher Shy Bear" How cute is this?? This is also my card for Danni's Flutterby Wednesday Challenge this week. We were to use a butterfly and/or fairy and PINK!

Don't forget, to see the image better, you can always click to enlarge it!

STAMP: Butterfly Catcher Shy Bear

PAPER: CTMH Daydream

COLORED WITH: Lyra's, OMS

EMBELLISHMENTS: CTMH Glitter Stack (NLA), CTMH Ribbon, CTMH Prisma Glitter, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Feeling a Little 'Shy', So Stay Tuned!

Hello! Well, I am so excited! I ordered my first set of Shy Bear stamps from I Brake For Stamps a week ago and they arrived today! They are so DARNED cute I tell ya! I ordered 6 of them and I already have them stamped and ready to color, so stay tuned for samples! I may be able to get one done, not sure. I'm off tonight to look at wedding invitation kits for my aunt's upcoming wedding in Oct. Yes, OCTOBER, LOL! Four of us are going to be on a mission this wknd to complete these invitations and have them done and in the mail by Monday. Wish us luck!

So, stay tuned for my little Shy Bear creations!

"Play Along" Monday's Challenge #7 - Child's Play!

Sorry, I posted an hour too early! You can get a jumpstart on this one! LOL!

Happy Monday everyone! For this week's challenge, I'd like to see a project with the theme of "Child's Play" This week all the kid's will be back in school reconnecting with friends they haven't seen all summer and the skipping ropes will come out, the basketballs, children on playsets at recess, so I thought this would be a perfect theme! Remember to link a direct link in Mr Linky so we can all come and visit you and see your creations! Have fun! This week's winner will be chosen by www.random.org and will receive a CTMH goodie bag!

Above is my card and I used CTMH "Child's Play" for my image and sentiment! I added a little tiny bling to her bow and lots of glitter here and there. All product (except paper) is CTMH.

Happy Birthday (OCC and FBW Challenge Card)

Wow, 3rd post today! I'd say my creativity has returned!! I've actually had some time to play last night and today. This card is for 2 challenges...

1. Our Creative Corner - Sketch Challenge
2. Flutterby Wednesday - Create a birthday card with a butterfly or fairy on it

So I thought I would incorporate both challenges into one card! I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. I haven't done a pocket card in AGES, so I had alot of fun with this one. I hope you like it too. Well, I am off to sit outside and try and finish my latest "Shopaholic" series, "Shopaholic & Baby". I'm almost done!! If you haven't read this series and are looking for a good humor book, you have to check them out. They're fantastic!

Cute Card Thursday # 76 - Back To School!

This week on Cute Card Thursday, the challenge is 'Back To School'. So, I put my thinking cap on last night to see what I could come up with. So, I decided to make a pencil holder and matching bookmark. My daughter has already staked claim on both! The Labour Day wknd is upon us and hard to believe summer is coming to a close. Especially when we're getting the best weather NOW that we've had all summer! Except the night's are quite cold. We're down to single digits at night now. Oh well, enjoy the days while we can!! Have a wonderful long wknd!

STAMP: Stamping Bella

PAPER: CTMH (retired)

SASSC31 AND Happy Birthday Danni!

First off...

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY, DANNI!!!

They tell me now is when the REAL party begins!! Have a wonderful day today!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, and now that we've had that big shout out, lol!! This is my entry for this week's Fresh Batch Sketch Challenge. I had fun with this one. This is my last cuppy image that came in my goodie bag when I won a few week's ago. Aren't they cute?? I think I'm going to have to invest in a couple. Jennifer over at Stamps and Smiles has a new release coming out soon, so stay tuned!

STAMP: Stamps and Smiles

PAPER: My Mind's Eye

EMBELLISHMENTS: Bling, ribbon and glitter ~ CTMH, flowers ~ Dollarama

Be Sure To Visit Danni's Blog!

On Friday, Danni is turning the big 4-0, but instead of 'moping' she's turning it into a MONTH LONG PARTY!!! Each Wednesday, Flutterby Wednesday will present a new challenge AND blog candy!! Be sure to pop over to see what's going on!!!!!! This Wednesday, you have to create a birthday card with a butterfly and/or fairy on it, plus answer a question about Danni. Make sure you chk it out!!

Back To School With House Mouse!

Hello! Well, a few more days and our kid's are back to school. We have Andrew going into Gr 8 and Ashleigh going into Gr 4. Wow, one's graduating after this yr and one's becoming a junior. Last wknd, a couple of us gals got together and I played around with this stamp set. I borrowed it from my friend Monica and you can see some of her work here on our Club Blog. I had a look through this week's challenges and I've decided to enter this into the Samptacular Sunday Challenge # 22, Scallop Mania. I added brown fun flock to my little mouse, colored with Lyra's and OMS and added bling to the pencil eraser.

STAMP: House Mouse

PAPER: Retired from CTMH

COLORED WITH: Prisma chalks and Lyra's/OMS

EMBELLISHMENTS: Bling from Michael's, Fun Flock

PUNCH: LG Circle Scallop - Stamping Bella, Edge Scallop - SU!

WOW ~ Allsorts Week 16 Challenge

My cousin asked me to make her 3 cards that had WOW on them and had to do with nature. Each year, she attends a Women's Outdoor Weekend (WOW) and asked me to do something up for her, as long as it was outdoorsy/nature related. So, this is what I came up with. I used fall colors and then used 2 of my cricut cart's as well. I am also entering this card in allsorts challenge 16. This week's challenge: "banning rubber this week!! Yup no stamped images or sentiments this week girls. (eeek) I will allow anything digital ~ so digital images, digital stamps, computer generated sentiments."

STAMPS: None

CRICUT CART'S: Plantin Schoolbook (wow) and Graphically Speaking (nature)

EMBOSSING: Swiss Dots folder

The Winner Is....

The winner of the new Autumn/Winter CTMH Idea Book is...

Comment # 1 chosen by random.org!

Congratulations Michele! If you could email me your mailing address, I'll get your new catalogue out to you asap!

Thanks to everyone for playing!