I'M BACK!!!

I'm done with my "maternity leave" and I'm back to crafting and blogging. Hopefully, I can still blog just as much as I did before I had the baby but we'll see. Some days are more challenging than others. :) We are managing though.

GUESS WHO I MET THIS WEEKEND?? Julie Ebersol! ACK! I was so darn excited! She was here from A Muse-a-palooza, teaching classes at the Paper Garden Boutique. I wasn't able to take a class since I'm still nursing on demand (and my child is QUITE demanding) but Julie said I could stop by for a quick hug. She is just as sweet and friendly as you would think, maybe even more so. Meeting her was such a treat! She's the first SCS/stamping person I've met in real life and for that to be Her Royal Rubberness was just UNREAL! Somebody pinch me!

Oh, and I made a card too. This is for yesterday's Featured Stamper challenge on SCS. You can see the lovely Kelly's card HERE. I changed the stamp set, the colors, the dimensions, and I left off the sponging and thread. This stamp set is Unity's Love in the Air. The paper is just generic Kraft, blue, and white card stock and some Target Dollar Spot DP. And the buttons are from a grab bag I got on Etsy.

Happy Monday friends!

Limelight Sketch and an Awesome CAUSE

I made this card for the sketch challenge going on right now on the Limelight Blog. The product challenge is to use buttons. I love me some buttons! The image here is from Pink Cat Studio. The designer paper is from Doodlebug Design Inc. And the Cuttlebug embossing folder is Floral Fantasy. I also used Diamond Stickles on the pink frame around Lily to give my card some sparkle, because pink and sparkly is the BEST! :)

Also, you HAVE to go over to THIS POST on the Cosmo Cricket blog. They are donating $1 for every comment they receive up to $1000 to a local food bank. So, go over, leave a comment, and spread the word!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #44 - Verbena Custom Blends

Would you like some buttery toffee caramel? How about some vanilla wafers with banana pudding? Or maybe a little blueberry cobbler? Sounds delicious, right?! Well, you can find all of these amazing scents and many more in our featured shop this week, Verbena Custom Blends.

Verbena Custom Blends is filled with wonderful bath and body luxuries such as soaps, sugar scrubs, and whipped body frostings. Here is a peek at a few of her items.
If you love fruity scents take a look at this strawberry coconut and pineapple soap.




Have a sweet tooth? Then this pink sugar whipped cream soap may be for you.


And don't these blueberry cobbler soaps look good enough to eat?!

If you are as excited as I am about this shop, then you are going to want to make sure to play this week for your chance to win a $15 store credit to Verbena Custom Blends!

Now, currently Verbena Custom Blends is away on vacation so you will need to find inspiration from her sold items which you will find when you scroll down the right sidebar in her shop. Once you find your inspiration, create a project of your own and link it up to this post by Friday, July 17th at noon PST for your chance to win!

Although Ashley is still on 'maternity leave' she was so inspired by this shop that she created a card to share with you all! So make sure to leave her some love! :)


If you have never participated in an Etsy Inspired Challenge before we would love to have you play along and you can click HERE for more details.

Check out the Design Team blogs for more inspiration!

• De Swanick
  
• Emily Niehaus
• Heather Schlatter
• Jackie Bowman
• Jacquie Nordaune (July Guest)
• Joy Stagg
• Kerry Angeles
  
• Kristen Dyer
• Lee Murphy
• Shannon Bracken
• Tiffany Johnson
• Tonya Hopkins
• Vicki Crawford (July Guest)

Now go be Etsy Inspired!

EIC43 WINNER!!!

This week's winner is...

ANN! Congratulations! This was Ann's first time participating in the Etsy Inspired Challenge...yeah for beginner's luck! :) You can check out her beautiful card HERE.

Ann, please contact De with your information at stampindeva @ bellsouth dot net so that she can get your fabulous prize from Limelight Papercrafts to you! :)

Many thanks to everyone who played along this week, whichgoose for such inspirational pieces, and Mandy from Limelight Papercrafts for sponsoring the challenge this week!

Tune in tomorrow for a shop filled to the brim with items that will delight your senses!

EIC43 Reminder!

Happy Thursday everyone! I just wanted to remind you that you still have one more day to get your Etsy Inspired project completed for your chance to win this week's fabulous prize from Limelight Papercrafts!

All you have to do is visit whichgoose, a shop filled with beautiful floral crowns and hair combs, find a piece that inspires you and create a project of your own. Then post your project on your blog, SCS, or PCP (keyword EIC43) and link it up to THIS POST by Friday at noon PST.

Here are a few pieces from the whichgoose shop to help give your creativity a little kick start this morning.


And for all you who love to combine challenges...Mandy from Limelight Papercrafts has a sketch and product challenge going on too! Also, Limelight Papercrafts has some great products on sale through July 12th.

25% off - All Glitter, Bazzil Chips, and All Fun Flock
20% off - All Pink Paislee Stamps and All Unity Stamps

Okay, now go be Etsy Inspired!

Unity Guest Designer Challenge

Each month, Unity Stamp Co has a challenge to find a new KOTM guest designer. You just use your KOTM and apply it to whatever challenge is given by the lovely Jenn Buck. This month's challenge was a sketch. You can see the details on the contest HERE.

This is the first month that I've tried out. Mostly because it's only been going on for three months and I've been busy having a baby. ;) I decided I would give it a shot. There's a lot of talented people entering but there's no harm throwing my name into the hat.

For this card, I used Unity's May KOTM. I have no idea what the designer paper I used is. It's so hard to keep track when all you have left is scraps. But it's double sided paper. I used some Stickles on the center of the stamped flowers and the dragonfly. I added some Primas that I adorned with some rhinestones. Just a simple card.

Next, I used the sketch to make a layout. Now, I actually got carried away. This layout looked GREAT before I remembered that this is for Unity Stamp Co and I had to use stamps on it. So, I added stamping from the Unity May KOTM and I think it turned out a bit busy. I was going to try to do another layout but I'm not sure I'll have the time.

These pictures are from Brady's first birthday. Man, did he have a good time with that cake! He did what every parent hopes for, he made a GIANT mess! But that's one thing I adore about my sweet boy, he gets very excited on special occasions and it makes all the effort I put into the events very worth while.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your Tuesday!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #43 - Whichgoose

We are so excited this week to feature the beautiful Etsy shop, whichgoose, and also to have the challenge be sponsored by Mandy from Limelight Papercrafts!

Whichgoose is filled with gorgeous nature-inspired crowns and hair combs. Once you see this shop you are going to want to buy one of these whimsical pieces for your wedding or just so you can feel like a princess in everyday life! Here's a little peek at some of the beauty that can be found at whichgoose.



All you need to do is visit whichgoose and find a piece that inspires you and then create a project of your own based on that inspiration (easy, right?!). Then post your project on your blog, SCS, or PCP and leave a comment on this post with a link to your project by Friday, July 10th at noon PST for your chance to win this week's prize. If you have never participated in an Etsy Inspired Challenge before you can check out THIS POST for extra details. And we also have a group on PCP if you would like to come chat with us there.

Want to know what you're playing for? Of course you do! :) You all can thank Mandy from Limelight Papercrafts for offering up this week's fabulous prize!

The winner will receive:
1 package of Prima Light Blue Sprites flowers
1 package of Prima Butterflies (E Style) and
1 container of Spring Bloom Dew Drops


If you are wanting some new crafting supplies make sure to check out Limelight Papercrafts...they have a ton of great products AND they are having a sale this weekend too!
-10% off all ribbon
-20% off all Basic Grey glazed brads and buttons
-30% off all Pink Cat Studio stamp sets!
And to sweeten the deal, all orders $50 or more will receive a Glitz Design Roller Doodle roller stamper for FREE!

Okay, now I know you all are ready to go be EtsyInspired but before you go you might want to check out what the lovely design team has created this week for you too! And please welcome our July guest designers Jacquie and Vickilyn!

• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Jacquie (July Guest Designer)
• Joy
• Kerry
  
• Kristen
• Lee
• Shannon
• Tiffany
• Tonya
• Vickilyn (July Guest Designer)

EIC42 WINNER!!!

This week's winner is...

KATHRYN!

Congratulations! You can see her pretty pink card HERE along with a few other great cards, including a fun 4th of July card!

Kathryn, please email De your snail mail address at stampindeva @ bellsouth dot net as well as letting her know which wonderful 8x10 print you love best from Tony Carlisle's Photo Gallery.

Thank you to all of you who played along with us this week! It is nice to see some new players and so many fabulous projects!

Now, I know it is a holiday weekend but you do not want to miss our next Etsy Inspired challenge. Not only is our featured shop filled to the brim with inspiration but we also have a wonderful sponsor who is generously offering up an amazing prize for the winner! The new EtsyInspired challenge will be posted by midnight tonight for any of you night owls who want to get a head start! :)

HHH: A Treat

I managed to make another card this week and thought that I would share it with you. This card was made for SCS's Clean and Simple challenge this week. The challenge was to use some sparkles on your card. That's easy enough for me!

This card uses Unity's June KOTM, Perfect in Every Way. The pink ice cream has Stickles all over it. I actually cut out the ice cream cone twice. Once for the base layer and once for just the ice cream. It has a lot of dimension in real life.

And now for another treat! I have a picture of the kids to share with you! I know that I'm super biased but my kids are just SOOOOO cute! Parker had his two week appointment yesterday, the boy weighs in at 10lbs 10.5oz! He's a GOOD eater!

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

Holy Moly! I Made a Card!

I decided that I would go ahead and try to make a card for this week's EtsyInspired challenge. I know, isn't that a novel though? ;) I actually conceptualized this card in my head first, however I couldn't find the paper I was looking for. Boo! I decided to give it a try anyhow.

My inspiration came from this beautiful Rose Garden Photograph. I could have sworn I had some rose printed DP around here but it's hiding from me so I decided to use this Amy Butler paper instead. It's a loose interpretation, I know. The sentiment is from Unity's June (09) KOTM.

Also, I decided to combine this with the YSHLUA8 challenge on the Unity Friends forum. Rachel came up with a really cool flow chart on what you could use on your card. It was a really cool way to get inspired since everything fell into place for me. I've never done a challenge like this before and I thought it was really cool!

Anyhow, play along with this week's EtsyInspired Challenge, there's an awesome prize to be won! Happy Wednesday people!

EIC42 Reminder

Hello all! You still have a few days to get your Etsy Inspired challenge projects completed and linked up for your chance to win this week's prize!

Our fabulous featured shop this week is Tony Carlisle's Photo Gallery which is full of beautiful photography. Here are a few more inspirational prints:



You may use one of these photos as your inspiration or visit Tony Carlisle's Photo Gallery to find a print that inspires you even more! :) Once you create a fabulous project of your own please link it up to THIS POST by Friday at noon PST for your chance to win this week's prize...your favorite 8 x 10 print from Tony Carlisle's shop!

Feeling the Love

This is a picture of what my mantel currently looks like. This is extremely impressive being that poor Dustin only got like four cards for his birthday. I should say that this is a combo of cards from Brady's birthday and baby cards for Parker. I'm rapidly running out of room! I'm going to have to start sticking my cards on the wall.

I don't think anyone will quite understand what these cards mean to me. Growing up, I didn't have much family around or many family friends. I would normally get maybe three birthday cards (one from my mom, one from my dad, and one from my Godmother.) It's just going to be so amazing to pull out these cards when my kids are old enough to understand and say "Look at how many people love you." And "Look at how many people took time out of their day to say they were thinking about you." It's extremely touching to me.

Here's a close up of all the handmade cards of I've gotten from my blogging/stamping friends. I am SO touched! And more come every single day! Each one makes me feel so special!

The wonderful friends who created these cards for me. Top row from left: Lee, Jenn, Jan, and Stef. Middle row from left: Joy, Jacquie, Jimmi, Dawn. Bottom row from left: Tiffany and Shannon

Also, on a side and very sad note, you may have remembered me saying that my grandpa was sick and in the hospital. He passed away this last Sunday due to heart complications. He is one of the best people I've ever met and I'm lucky to have had him in my life for as long as I have.

Etsy Inspired Challenge #42 - Tony Carlisle's Photo Gallery

Happy Saturday everyone! Welcome to another Etsy Inspired Challenge!

If you are a nature lover you will love the beautiful photographs in this week's Etsy Shop, Tony Carlisle's Photo Gallery. Just look at these gorgeous images Tony has captured.



And for all you ladybug and butterfly lovers, he has some amazing pictures for you...here is a little peek at two of them.



Now I know some of you already have ideas brewing in your head...be sure to check out Tony Carlisle's shop for more inspiration and make sure to pick out your absolute favorite photo because he is generously giving this week's winner an 8 x 10 print of his/her choice!

If you have just discovered the Etsy Inspired Challenge and have never played along before you can check out THIS POST for extra details. But basically you need to go to Tony Carlisle's shop, find a photograph that inspires you and create something based off of that inspiration...maybe a photo collage, scrapbook page, card, a painting, etc.

Be sure to link your project up to this post here by Friday, July 3rd at noon PST for your chance to win the prize!

And don't forget to visit the fabulous Design Team too!

• Carole Chesser (June Guest)
• De Swanick
  
• Emily Niehaus
• Heather Schlatter
• Jackie Bowman
• Jenn Coker (June Guest)
• Joy Stagg
• Kerry Angeles
  
• Kristen Dyer
• Lee Murphy
• Shannon Bracken
• Tiffany Johnson
• Tonya Hopkins

Now go be EtsyInspired! :)

EIC #41 WINNER!!!

Congratulations Vickilyn...you are our winner this week! You can check out her pretty butterfly card and a great red, white, and blue star card HERE.

Vickilyn please email De with your snail mail address at stampindeva @ bellsouth dot net as well as letting her know which adorable t-shirt from PotatoPatch you would like!

Thanks again to all of you who played this week...we love seeing what inspires you each week! And a big thank you to PotatoPatch for all the inspiration and fabulous prize!

Check back in tomorrow to see which Etsy shop we are featuring next!

Heather, You Hug My Heart!

My sweet friend and EtsyInspired DT member Heather of Heather's Heavenly Stampations recently brought this set to my attention on her blog. I'll sum up really quickly being that I'm running on 3 hours of sleep and I should be napping. Pink Cat Studio has made this adorable digi set in honor of the sweet Ethan Weiman (click for his Caring Bridge site) who recently lost his two year battle with cancer. The proceeds from the purchase of the digi images are going to the Make A Wish Foundation Illinois Chapter since they made Ethan's wish of a barn and a horse come true. Buy the set, it's $6 or you can get the singles for $4 each.

On top of getting the images, donating to charity, and feeling good about yourself, sweet Heather is offering some blog candy too. If you buy the set and blog about it, you get yourself entered to win a $20 gift card from Heather. How sweet is she? You can see all the details on how to win HERE. ALSO, you can win a gift certificate from Vicki for doing the same thing, enter HERE.

I just bought the cowboy image a few minute ago so I don't have a sample for you but it's too cute. And since I have two little boys of my own, I'm sure that it will come in handy.

Family Update

Here's a picture of Parker from yesterday. My beautiful and talented friend Amy of Amy Leigh Photography took this picture. This is a candid of me burping him after he ate. Isn't it precious? If you are in Northern California, you must book Amy! She's amazing!

Ok, a few happenings:

~Yesterday, Parker lost his umbilical cord

~Last week, Brady turned two and he's just as terrible as ever :)

~Parker is eating well and sleeping well, I'm so in love with him.

~Brady is finally adjusting to his brother but still acting out a lot

As for me, I don't think I'm healing right. Last week, I was up and about with so much energy. I think I was running on adrenaline. This week, I don't feel like going anywhere and I just want to sleep. Today, I'm going to make an appointment to see my OB to get things checked out.

Anyhow, I miss my blog friends and reading everyone's blog. I try to get around to some but I am forever being interrupted by SOMEONE crying. Happy Thursday friends!

EIC41 Reminder!!!

Have you checked out this week's Etsy shop yet? PotatoPatch will be giving the winner of this week's EtsyInspired Challenge a free short sleeve t-shirt of the winner's choice! So be sure to check out the PotatoPatch shop for tons of adorable onesies and shirts...soak up all that cuteness and then go create a fun project of your own! Maybe someone will even do some potato stamping! :) I can't wait to see what you all come up with this week! Here are a few more of my favorite items from PotatoPatch:



Be sure to get your project linked up to THIS POST by Friday at noon PST for your chance to win the prize!

Now go be EtsyInspired!

And enjoy the rest of your week too! :)

Happy Father's Day and Random.Parker

Happy Father's Day to any dads out there that might be reading this! Though, that seems kind of doubtful to me. I am pretty sure I have mostly women readers.

This is the card I made for Dustin. Lots of Unity on this card. The sentiment is from Dad of All Kinds, the game controller is from Daddy's Little Helper, and the dad and kids are from Little Me. If you know my hubby at all, you know that he's a HUGE video game fan so I definitely wanted to use the controller to make him a card. I originally just had the sentiment on there but it seemed to be missing something. So, I added the Dad and the little boy to the card. Then I decided it wasn't fair to Parker to be left off the card so I stamped and cut out the baby. I put him on the card with dimensional and the card was complete. It may be off the wall, but it's just perfect for my husband and that's all that matters.

And here's a little Random.Parker for you. Every month for the first year of Brady's life, we took a picture of him with one of Dustin's childhood toys to show his relative growth. Well, of course we had to do the same for Parker. Except, Dustin only has one childhood stuffed animal and he is permanently on Brady's bed. So, this is MY childhood toy, Grumbles the Bear. :) Parker is one week old in this picture.

EtsyInspired Challenge #41 - PotatoPatch

Welcome to the Etsy Inspired Challenge! This week we have another super cute shop for you to be inspired by. PotatoPatch has adorable onesies and shirts for babies and kids.



Don't you just LOVE these?! She has such great designs for both girls and boys! And how creative too! Can you believe that all of these were created by carving and stamping with potatoes?!

So, I know you are probably already quite inspired but be sure to check out the PotatoPatch shop for even more inspiration and while you're there you might want to purchase a few of these adorable shirts too! :) Or at least make sure to pick your absolute favorite because PotatoPatch will be giving the winner of this week's challenge a free short sleeve shirt of their choice! How awesome is that?!

If you have never played in an Etsy Inspired challenge before you can check out THIS POST for some extra details. And be sure to visit the Design Team blogs to see what inspired them this week.

• Carole Chesser (June Guest)
• De Swanick
  
• Emily Niehaus
• Heather Schlatter
• Jackie Bowman
• Jenn Coker (June Guest)
• Joy Stagg
• Kerry Angeles
  
• Kristen Dyer
• Lee Murphy
• Shannon Bracken
• Tiffany Johnson
• Tonya Hopkins

Once you visit PotatoPatch, find your own inspiration and create a fabulous project of your own...be sure to come back here to this post and leave a comment with a link to your project by Friday, June 26th at Noon PST for your chance to win the prize for this week!

Now go be EtsyInspired!

EIC40 WINNER!!!

This weeks Etsy Inspired Winner is...

SANDY! You can check out her pretty butterfly card HERE.

Congrats Sandy! Please email De with your snail mail address at stampindeva @ bellsouth dot net and she will make sure to get your reusable sandwich bags sent out to you.

A big thanks to Naturally Felt for providing us with inspiration this week and for selling eco-friendly products that help our Planet Earth! :)

Thanks to all of you who played along with us this week too! Come back tomorrow for our next Etsy Inspired Challenge and if you have kiddos or grandkids the prize is definitely one you do not want to miss! :)

HHH: Parker's Eviction Notice

I actually made this card LAST week for the Limelight sketch challenge. When I uploaded it to SCS, I jokingly called it an eviction notice for Parker and it worked! Wow! Maybe Angela should tell people about how her stamps can induce labor! ;)

I used Unity's Little Me. That's me and Parker on the card. Well, it would be if I was more stick like. The designer paper is some that my friend Dawn sent me. I pulled the color scheme from the paper in the middle. I thought purple would be ok to use even though Parker is a boy since the purple is for me. :)

Happy weekend everyone!