ATC turned full card #13

This was one of the first ATC's I did for the Amuse swaps I participated in. I love these funky little creatures and their expressions just cracked me up.

The colors in this patterned paper were the same colors as my office and I just fell in love with it and the glitter it had.

I pulled this sketch off of SCS, it is SC159. I loved the prep work I did for these ATC's, it made it so much quicker to put them together and although they are simple, I love how they all turned out.

Stamps: Amuse Love Best and Monster Duo

Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Bordering Blue, Die Cuts with a View Glitter Print

Inks: Staz On, Gable Green

Accessories: White Grosgrain Ribbon, Bold Brights Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Amuse Creative Candy

Field of roses, apricots & celery

The challenge this week on one of my groups was to use Rose Red, Apricot Appeal & Certainly Celery. I finally received some black embossing powder (after finding the one I was originally looking for in one of my drawers) and tried my hand at replicating a card I loved of Julee Tilman. Her card and colors are so phenomenal.

I combined this color challenge with Weekend Sketch Challenge #77.

Card Details:
Stamp Set: Upsy Daisy
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Whisper White
Inks: Same as above, Versamark
Accesories: 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, black embossing powder, Rich Regals Brads, spiral punch, sponges

ATC turned full card #12

Here's another in my series of ATC turned in to full cards. This is one of my favorites (well, I can't just pick one). I love the little pregnancy dress & the colors that she picked.

Thanks Lori-Ann for letting me post your adorable ATC! This uses one of the Pink Cat Studio sketches and the Use it Challenge #4

Pitter Patter by Lori-Ann Bartels
Cardstock: So Saffron, Cool Carribean, Cutie Pie DSP
Accessories: Scribble Flower Die Cut
Temp Turquoise, Twill, Red Ribbon, Scallop punch

Welcome to the Jungle

Inspired by Guns'N'Roses and Courtney's Closet Challenge. Ha ha! I'm listening to Classic Rewind on Sirius while stamping and this song came on...though it the perfect title for this card.

This is a pretty basic card, no bells & whistles to it, but I like the scene I created for it. This sketch was based on Technostamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge and the card was based off Courtney's Closet Challenge as well. Isn't Courtney just a little doll baby, so adorable?

Card Details:
Stamp Sets- Baby Love & Little Gal by Kim Hughes (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Cardstock: Papertreyink White, So Saffron, Garden Green
Inks: Memento Black, Copic markers
Accessories: ribbon unknown

Clear & Simple Earth Day Challenge

For our Earth Day challenge pull out your Clear and Simple Stamps and create something by recycling something. Examples: an old card, used magazines, create something 3d(altered) using say an old milk carton or coffee can - get creative and have fun!

I enjoyed this challenge and although I was ultra creative with my recycling, I had fun doing it.
For this first card I used paper piecing again by stamping the mirrored image on a page out my Martha Stewart Living catalog. I wish I had taken pictures before I ripped the page to shreds cutting it, but I think it was a detergent advertisement. I loved the floral look of it. I coupled it with the bright pink card that was a leftover gift bag from Easter. Sorry there was a glare, no matter what angle I took the picture at so I finally gave up.











The second card I again used the paper piecing technique coupled with the bag background. This time I changed it up just a bit by using a pencil eraser to stamp the polka dots that were embossed on the bag. For this card I also used the Fall to Layout #38 by Clean & Simple Stamping. It worked so perfectly for my image!

Please join us in the Earth Day challenge by creating something (card, project, 3-D) using a recyclable item. Can't wait to see what you all create!

Make sure to also check out the cool new releases by Clear & Simple Stamps!

Animal Cracker

I absolutely loved this set upon first seeing it in the catalog. I saw so many cute cards using this set and know that I finally have it, I'm using it up. Mary Jo made this phenomenal card this week and this image was perfect for the sketch challenge/designer paper challenge I needed to complete for a few of my other groups.

I bought the Parisian Breeze paper after seeing all of Lisa's AWESOME cards using this paper. The color combination just blows me away and thought it work well with the giraffe image.

For my first challenge I needed to use designer paper (Parisian Breeze) and the 2nd challenge was to use Sketch Challenge #204 from SCS. I love the way this card turned out and really I wish I had made several extras but only had one. Oh well!

I stepped this card up a bit for a swap that I was doing, the other one I eliminated the button part as I didn't have enough for the swap but I still used the smaller chocolate ribbon tied in a bow and I still think it looked great.

I think this would be an adorable baby boy card!

Blogger's Challenge #95

This week our challenge was to use Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow and Sahara Sand. At first I thought Lisa (list mom) was kooky with this color combo but then as I browsed the catalog I kicked myself for not ordering the paper that coordinates with the colors she chose...instead I picked the one above it (Parisian).

So, I decided to wing it. I knew I wanted to use the new stamp set I had ordered before vacation and have wanted FOREVER. So I pulled out Animal Crackers and picked my image and then worked around it. I have to say I can't stand this card, but then again, I don't love all the cards I do anyway and I'll move on to another one.

This uses Mojo Monday sketch #82.

Make sure to check out all the other blogger's challenge posts(click on logo to the right) for their creations, can't wait to see they come up with!

Vacation pictures

We got back from our cruise this week and thought I would share a few pictures. We cruised on Carnival Destiny out of Miami with our first stop being Nassau, Bahamas. While this definitely wasn't my favorite stop, the site of Atlantis resort from our ship was awesome. We also took a taxi over to see what all the hype was about, and the hotel is amazing but glad I didn't waste any of our money on signing up for a tour of it.

Our next port of call was Half Moon Cay. This is Carnival's island as well as someone elses I believe. It was GORGEOUS!!! The weather was nice and we just layed on the beach the whole time. Our friend Brian took his 2 boys and Tristan on a sailboat for a bit and they all had a great time doing that. The water was a nippy 72 but once you got it after sitting in the sun it felt great. It's also where I got a little burned, but not too bad and only in a small area that didn't get some sunscreen.














Our last port of call was my favorite, Grand Turk. The water and view was amazing, a little wind, but still warm. Again, we layed out most of time just enjoying the sunshine as the excursions were all cancelled due to the wind. We had some drinks & food at Margaritaville before the boys had a blast on the Flowrider. You can check out the video of Tristan on it on my facebook page.

Our last day I participated in a 1 mile walk that Carnival does called On Deck for a Cure. It was great to be able to do something like this on my vacation, and great that Carnvial has raised over 900K for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

If you want to see more pictures of our vacation you can see them here.

We had a GREAT vacation, we're back at home and now getting back in to the swing of things. I hope to get some stamping done soon and get back to posting. Thanks for stopping by and hanging with me while I was gone!

Clear & Simple Stamps Sneak & Challenge

I have been on vacation (yeah) so I wasn't able to share these last week when I received them.

Here are 3 new sets that have been released, make sure to check them out! Also join us for the April challenge:

April: Spring Fever

Join us for this months challenge!

April: Spring Fever

It's time for another Take The Challenge Tuesday with Clear & Simple Stamps. Are you ready for Spring? This month's challenge is called "Spring Fever". Get out your spring patterned paper and let's get paper piecing. The challenge this month is to make a Spring creation using the paper piecing technique.

Please link submissions to the group page: http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/clearsimplestamps

ATC turned full card #11

LOVE THIS ONE!!! I have to say it's one of my favorites and especially since I'm back to the real world now. No more fun in the sun for me!

This ATC was created by Amy Koehler using Mojo Monday #37 Sketch which I can not find the link to right now, but make sure to check out Julee's sketches, they're fab!

For this card, it already had a lot of blink (glittered sandals) on it so I just embellished on the sketch itself. I added some white ribbon, black brads and Basic Grey paper which I cut out just the part I wanted to use.

Hopefully this week I'll get to play once I'm caught up with everything. I'll share some pics and I'll be doing another post today showing you some sneak peaks of the new sets by Clear & Simple Stamps as well as a challenge.

ATC turned full card #10

How cute is this little shaker ATC created by Holly Miller (SCS: planet43)??? I love the little beads in the fish bowl.

This was another simple card where I just added a strip of ribbon as I thought the ATC was great and the patterned paper is a little busy so I didn't want to overdo it.

Card details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Basic Black, Only Orange, DP by Stampin' Up!
Accessories: ribbon unknown

ATC turned full card #9

This is another of my favorite ATC's. I love the colors of it and it matched perfectly with this patterned cardstock I had on hand. I decide it would be a good card to add some simple wavy sewing on to duplicate the look of some waves.

This ATC was created by Rachel Hope aka on SCS as Rachelhope13 Another wonderful blog to visit!!! I used SC54 for this card, using a straight edge paper instead of wavy.

Today I will be taking a Catamaran Sail & Snorkel in Grand Turks, hoping to get a nice tan and a lot of relaxation!!!

Card details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Readl Red, Chatterbox DP
Accessories: Janome Sewing

ATC turned full card #8

The key to my success in getting so many of these ATC's converted was I took the time to go through all my patterned scrap paper, match it up with the ATC's and set them aside. I surveyed my sketch folder for any sketches I felt would work well with ATC's and printed those out (there were about 10-12 I chose). Once that part was done, it was just slapping them together and following the sketch. I tried to keep most of them simple as the ATC's were already gorgeous on their own.

This ATC was created by Crystal Spencer . You can't tell from this picture but Crystal used some crystal effects to make raindrops coming down.

In the loss of my computer this past week, I lost my folder of hundreds of sketches (teaches me to back up my stuff) so I'm not sure who's sketch this was as I didn't write it down (sorry!)

Card details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Tempting turquoise, Summer Picnic DSP, Basic Black
Accessories: Turquoise primas, Rhinestone Fire Brads

ATC turned full card #7

Oh, how much fun I had with this one. I love this background paper and even though it's a little darker than the ATC, I thought it worked well.

This ATC was created by the talented Laurie Schmidlin, aka Lauraly on SCS. I'm a big fan of Laurie's work and love her blog!

This card used an OLD sketch from the SU! Datebooks (or calendar books, or appt books or whatever they are called) for demonstrators. It's Sept. 2006 sketch.

Card details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Coredinations paper, Sedona Bloom by Scrapworks, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Janome Sewing

Yeah Me!

Clear & Simple Stamps (I'm the featured guest designer!)

I'm excited to see this pop in to my e-mail box. Unfortunately, I'm in the Bahamas and can't copy & paste the awesome sneaks but will show you as soon as I get back in town.

ATC turned full card #6

I tell you, I never felt like I got so much accomplished as I did mounting these ATC's. Even though they are fairly simple cards, I'm really happy with how they turned out. I have about 7-8 more to do but those will have to wait until I return from vacation next week as this posts I will be boarding a ship for a cruise with hubby and my oldest. I will have posts going throughout the week while I'm gone and hope to get to sit down and stamp upon my return.

This ATC was created by Jennifer Chapin. I loved the subtle colors of this ATC with the black and knew that this paper was perfect with it. What you can't tell is that I also used some stickles on the flowers and the "i"'s.

Go along with all the others, I followed one of Mary Jo's sketches which I think is perfect for ATC's and used it for the first ATC I converted here.

Card Details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Basic Black, Bashful Blue, DP by SU!
Accessories: Black Rub-ons by Polar Bear Express-Doodle Rub Bloom Borders, Oval Punches, Waterfall stickles

ATC turned full card #5

This is one of my ATC's that I converted into a full card. I just loved the colors and this is absolutely one of my favorite papers to use (Chatterbox Persian Floral). The colors in it matched almost perfectly with the colors Emily Gunnell chose to use on her ATC.

I am not happy with how my sentiment turned out as I stamped it crooked the first time I stamped it, hence the oval punch. I love the layout which was one I saw from Jennifer Buck and thought it would be perfect.

I hope to have more to share next week while I am on vacation.

For more of Emily's work you can see her blog here: Emily Gunnell, aka Waterpixie on SCS

Card details:
Stamp sets: Mini Mates by Stampin' Up, Amuse
Cardstock: Chatterbox Persian Floral, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Large Oval punch

ATC turned full card #4

Oh, how cute is this little card? It was an afterthought of mine to put a sentiment on the inside (hot stuff???)

This is another one of the Amuse ATC cards I received in a swap made by Jenna Hipps of Jenna's Sweet Creations . I followed another one of Taylor's Cupcake Challenge Sketches .

Card details:
Stamps from Amuse
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, blue that ATC is mounted on unknown
Accessories: 3/4" circle punch, red brads, argyle cuttlebug folder

ATC turned full card #3

This ATC looked so delicious that I had to go buy myself a Twix candy bar. Not that eating it helps me with that weight I'm trying to lose!

This ATC was created by Donna Baker of Serenity in Stamping. I loved that the image was embossed and looked like a frosted cupcake. I apologize that I do not know what sketch I used for this due to my computer crashing. I really feel like I need to add something to the lower right corner like maybe some jumbo eyelets or something but not sure...what do you think?

I mounted this card on some Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla and added the scrumptious Basic Grey Merino paper along with some of the chocolate ribbon. I just liked the simplicity of it.

Hope you are enjoying the ATC turned full card parade!

ATC turned full card #2

I have long been a fan of Taylor and was excited to participate in one of her Amuse ATC challenges she held. I was lucky in the fact that she participated in almost all the groups she hosted so I got one of her wonderful ATC's back!!

In my attempt to convert all my ATC's into full cards I thought it to be appropriate to use one of Taylor's sketch challenges to convert her ATC. The colors of my patterned paper don't match exactly to that of hers, but I still think it looked great together.

To see more of Taylor's wonderful work as well as her line of stamps please visit her here:
Taylor Vanbruggen of Taylored Expressions

Card details:
Stamps by Amuse
Cardstock: Background designer paper by SU, Only Orange, Green Galore, Pink Passion
Accessories: Nestabilities, Script cuttlebug folder (for only orange squares)