EtsyInspired #22 ~ Little Snuggle Bunny

This week's super sweet shop is Little Snuggle Bunny. Shelly makes these amazing, luxurious blankets by hand. I'm in love with her sophisticated fabric choices, definitely something for a chic mommy. I've found that this is a trend lately. More and more moms are looking for items in fashionable fabrics and prints. I know, personally, that this appeals to me. As much as I like a very "baby-like" item ON my child, if I have to carry it around I like for it to be something that appeals to me too. And Shelly has that covered. From her soft cuddly minky blankets to her funky fleece blankets, there's just something for everyone. The best thing about her though is that she puts so much love into each blanket like she is "making it for my own son."

This week's prize is AMAZING!! Shelly is offering up the gorgeous pink and brown blanket. It's so pretty! I love it! It's retail value is $65! Holy smokes, that's so generous! (I really do have the BEST giveaways!) All you have to do is go to the Little Snuggle Bunny Shop, find any item to be inspired by, and make a creation (any creation you want.) Post a link to your creation right here on this post and you'll be entered in a Random.Brady drawing to win this amazing blanket!

Here is my card for this week. It is based on the Little Jungle Baby blanket. I just love it! Brady's nursery was done in a jungle theme and we're bringing back the stuff for our new baby boy! Of course, I had to make a baby boy card to celebrate my big announcement yesterday.

Here is Joy's darling monkey card. I love the glitter and of course the color combo.

Lee's gorgeous snowflake card. I love the pink embossing and all those fabulous snowflakes!

Here's Tiff's super fun card. I love all the textures and dimension!

This week, we say goodbye to Christine. Thank you so much Christine! We've LOVED your layouts this month, they are all fantastic! And this one is NO exception! I love the fun edging and the wonderful embellishing. Also, that picture just melts my heart. Thanks Christine for an awesome January!

EtsyInspired #21 Winner

Congrats Kerry!  Random.Brady picked you to be the winner this week!  I love this sweet card!  Kerry, email me your info and I'll get you the prize.  Sorry so short, I feel ICKY!

Ultrasound Results!

So, my scanner isn't cooperating at this very moment but I will try to get pictures up very soon.  I stole (gasp!) a picture from the internet because I have issues with posting without pictures.  I'm very shocked (I thought for SURE the baby was a girl) but very happy!  This little guy will be able to use everything of Brady's since he's due on Brady's birthday.  Yeesh!  

In other news:

I'm doing this really cool cause this month that I found on Katie's blog where you spend 29 days giving things away.  It's awesome.  Check out Katie's blog for deets, she's giving away blog candy.  

Also, my step sister made a music video and she needs votes to get it on the GRAMMYS!  How cool is that?  Please click HERE and vote for her (Ilea Matthews.)  It really is the best video, it's her actually singing unlike everyone else.

Another Step Out

Look at me, all outside my box.  ;)  This is a card I made for the Get Tailored Challenge from GinaK Designs on their SCS forum.  The challenge was to make a card with a tailored bow on it.  The bow was actually pretty simple and I just love the look of it.  I think it's also a masculine enough bow to put on a card for a man too.  I'm glad I learned this technique.  I learned it HERE.

This is my only GinaK set.  I won it on World Card Making Day I think.  It's called Comfort & Peace.  I love the silhouettes of flowers in this set.  I think they are very pretty and lend themselves to some classy cards.  I really wanted to make a black and white card but this Cherry Arte paper called out to me.  So, black, white and red it was.  

I'll be back around lunch time with ULTRASOUND pictures!  Stay tuned!!

Late Post!

Oh my goodness!  It's been such a long day and it's just flown by!  I can't believe it's almost dinner time!  Here's a card I made for the SCS sketch challenge this week.  It also qualifies for the Unity challenge to make something with grit (I used glitter) on it.  And for my pal Joy's LOVE challenge.  And that's all the blogging I can muster today.  I'm spent.  This is Unity's Birds of a Feather, btw.

Reminder!

Don't forget this week's EtsyInspired challenge!  Doesn't anyone wanna win those 4 awesome ORIGINAL ACEOs?  If not, you can always just give them to me.  ;)  All you have to do is make something (anything) inspired by the Zozo Cards shop, link your creation to the original post by noon Pacific time on January 30 (that's the day I'm getting my BIG ultrasound) and you'll be entered in the drawing.  

Flutter By Wednesday #42

Today is Wednesday and that means a Flutter By Challenge!  Don't forget, it's the last day to enter to win Danni's blog candy!  All you have to do is make a card with a butterfly somewhere on it and link it to Danni's post.  She will have her son draw a winner on Thursday.  It's great candy, so everyone should play along.

Guess what else?  Danni is letting me stay on her team for another month!  YAY!  So, tune in on Wednesdays in February for my Flutter By cards as well!  This week's card is Amber's sketch 3 for the Verve.  (You know, the sketch I messed up on with the apple card yesterday.)  This is the CORRECT sketch, using pink like the challenge asked for.  YAY me for following simple directions.  ;)  These butterflies are from Unity's Trifle Sentiments and the sentiment is from Unity's Mix Up of Cuteness.  All the DP is Making Memories.  

Ok friends!  Don't forget to play along for your chance to win the blog candy.  Oh and I'll see you at Hip Hop tomorrow!  :)

A Challenge Card and an Oppsie

I'm further venturing out into the world with this My Favorite Things challenge.  It's a "Who's that Girl" challenge.  I love Who's that Girl, she's always doing such fun stuff.  This is the only set I have with her, called Here's the Scoop.  The challenge was to make a card with ONLY 2 layers.  Yikes!  And the base counted as one layer.  Quite the challenge!

I cut out my stamped image with a border around it and colored the border brown to give it the look of a mat.  I was going to stamp the base layer with a background stamp but I wanted to put the sentiment on there so I opted not to.  I added some Primas with brad and some rhinestones.  That's it.  I think I'd be happier with this if it had more layers but I did what I could.

This next card was supposed to be for the Verve sketch number 3 but my apples were a whole lot bigger than I had originally thought so it didn't work with the sketch.  That and I didn't want to cover up the cute DP with too many layers.  Well, AND the twist to this sketch was to add pink.  Basically, this card doesn't fit the challenge at all.  But I still like it.  I think it's cute.  This uses Mix Up of Cuteness from Unity.  

I'm really sick today but I am still going to try very hard to have a post for tomorrow with my Flutter By card.  Hope you all are feeling better than I am!

Stepping Out a Little More

This weekend, I went poking around the SCS forums to see what I could find.  You know, because I'm venturing out.  I headed over to the Verve member company forum and found that Amber (who I know from Unity) posted a weekly sketch challenge over there.  I don't have any Verve stamps yet, but Amber said you could play along even if you didn't have any of the stamps.  I haven't completed one of the sketches yet for this month but I will.  Actually, I tried BUT I messed it up a bit so I will try again later.

Here is my first card using a $1 stamp I got from Joann's.  The twist on this sketch was to use hardware which I hardly ever use.  I put brads on the main image.  I was going to make a monochromatic card but it was just so dull so I added some black dots and I put some Black Diamond Stickles on the vellum butterflies.

Here's another one of those sweet $1 stamps from Joann's.  I am in LOVE with this Me and My Big Ideas paper.  In love I tell ya, I need to go buy some more.  I'm usually never this drawn to paper, but I'm sure you've seen it on my blog a few times over the last week.  

And here's my first ever The Greeting Farm card.  I got this image from WishRAK but I will eventually buy it since my little sister's name is Dorothy and she likes Wizard of Oz stuff.  The twist on this sketch was to use bling.  Hello?  That's what I'm good at so here you have some rhinestones and some Stickles on the ruby slippers.

Happy Birthday Shannon! (Second Post for Today)

My new blog pal Shannon (from blogger group 9) is having a birthday week extravaganza!  I'm so glad I met her!  She's so fun and talented!  I'm sorry to only be posting it now since it's been going on all week.  Shannon posted a challenge to make her a birthday card in honor of her celebration.  This is the card I came up with since Shannon loves the Cuttlebug and her favorite color is dark blue.  I put some Stickles on the presents, not sure you can see them though.  I embossed the dark blue paper on an angle for added interest.  

Happy Birthday Shannon!  I'm so glad we are friends now!  I hope your birthday is amazing!

Venturing Out...Very Slowly

On Thursday, my friend AJ told me that I need to venture out more.  I pretty much stay on the Unity forum on SCS because I made friends there, I'm so comfortable there, and I like it there.  But AJ told me that I need to get of my cozy little shell and put myself out there.  How would my name ever get out if I'm just in this one little box?  How would I get to experience the whole world of stamping if I stayed in one place?

I know that AJ is right.  She often is.  So, I ventured out a tiny tiny bit by doing the Limelight paper crafts sketch.  Now, I know that this is like sticking my big toe in the pool instead of diving right in but cut me some slack will you?  It's gonna be a process.  I say this because I am already familiar with Limelight and I've done some of the challenges before.  I know people on the design team there.  That and I still used Unity stamps.

Here are my two takes on the same sketch using Unity's August Kit of the Month and Unity's Simply Said (which is AJ's set btw, it was like she was holding my hand the whole way.)  The first card is more of a stretch but I just LOVE that Me and My Big Ideas DP so I HAD to show it off.  The second one, I find more suiting to the sketch.  But I don't like it as much!

Okay, come back tomorrow because I'm venturing even further out of my box.  YAY!  

There's Another Me!

Ok, not really. How scary would THAT be? But on to my point, as I've made my way through the paper crafting blogosphere, it always takes me by surprise to see my name on comments I haven't left or RAKs that I didn't send. I actually found out a while ago that there's another Ashley Newell who makes cards and sells her creations on Etsy. However, today I popped on over to her blog while blog surfing (which I REFUSE to call blurfing) and you know what I found out? We have the same middle initial too. How strange is that?

Though, I am extremely lucky since she is wonderfully talented and from her picture, she's just a gorgeous lady. There are worst things in this world than sharing your name with someone like that. But it is still a shock. I knew I should have kept my maiden name. ;)

Also, on my trip through the blogosphere, I found candy!!  Here are the ladies that are giving it away, click on their name to go to the candy.
Kim
Michelle

LuLu

Sammi

EtsyInspired #21 ~ Zozo Cards

This week's EtsyInspired artist is Zozo Cards. This shop is beyond adorable and whimsical! I love the illustrations, they are so cute! The amount of super cute items in her shop grows everyday. I really want to buy the whole shop, it's just that darling. Zoe offers a wonderful variety of items in her shop like cards, ACEOs, prints, 3D items, keychains, tote bags, magnets, and much more! I really like her sweet and whimsical animal art! I think it's perfect for a child's room or someone who is just a kid at heart like myself.

Up for our amazing giveaway this week is a collection of four (4) awesome original ACEOs from the Zozo cards shop. These are so cute! I wish I could win! All you have to do to be entered to win is choose any item from the Zozo Cards shop to use as inspiration for any creation you would like to make. What your creation is doesn't matter to me (cake, card, jewelry, etc...) all that matters is that you seek your inspiration from the shop. Link your creation right here on this post by next Friday January 30 by noon Pacific time and you will be entered in the random drawing to win. Now, go be EtsyInspired!

Here is my card for this week inspired by the adorable lion in the shop. Brady is in love with lions lately so I had to make this card. This is also my card to apply for the Whimsy Guest Designer spot. Details can be found HERE.

Joy decided to treat us to two cards this week. I think it's because she's the one who picked this shop. :) I am loving the colors on her scientist card and how cute is that little doggie? Just adorable!

This is Lee's super sweet treat bag. I love those cute little Koalas! This is such an awesome bag for Valentine's or any special gift giving you might have to do! I love it!

The amazing Tanis was drawn in by the owls in the shop, that doesn't surprise me! She made this gorgeous corner bookmark. I love the papers she used and the amazing colors. Tanis's eye for color is something I'd love to have!

How cute is Tiff's birdie card? I love those sweet stacked birds and the colors are just fantastic! The designer paper looks perfect with this card and the paper clip embellishment with the ribbon are divine.

This week, we are saying goodbye to my dear Ryann. I am SO sad about it but our dear Ryann has become so busy lately. I love your card Ryann, I love all the cards you've made. Thank you so much for helping me start out my challenge my sweet friend! Hope you will play along with us if you find some time! Hugs to you!

A couple of side notes, first Guest Designer for this month Christine had a family emergency and couldn't participate this week. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts or prayers. Also, don't forget about the DT call!

EtsyInspired #20 Winner

Sorry for the false advertising this week, but Random.Brady didn't pick a winner.  He is sick today and he's in bed.  But have no fear, the also cute Random.Hubby has chosen a winner for us this week.  It's KATY!  YAY Katy!  I think this is Katy's first time playing the challenge too.  I love this card done with the amazing Core'dinations card stock that is white on the inside so it gives that really cool look when you tear it.  Also, loving all the texture here.  Awesome card!  Katy, please email me your address so I can get it to Zeba and get you that gorgeous necklace!  Big thanks to Zeba for this week's amazing giveaway and wonderful inspiration!

Also, don't forget about the EtsyInspired DT call!  Deets below!  

And Hip Hop Brings Back the Mojo

I think this is the first thing I've made this week that I'm really happy with, which is rather odd since I made it really close to the deadline.  It was a challenge to use some sort of unusual ribbon, lace, or trim on your card.  I used some twine with Unity's Eco Chic.  

Lots of fun stuff happened at yesterday's Hip Hop!  Upon Angela's return from CHA she's giving away 23 prizes for people who participated in the blog hop.  There was a new release and a sale lasting through Feb 1.  Also, lots of talk about getting over fear of rejection and submitting to magazines and design teams.  So, I submitted one card to Paper Crafters yesterday.  Yikes!  And today, I need to apply for some DTs, my pal AJ told me I had to.  

Wanna win something??

So, I kinda don't know what's being given away since it doesn't say on the blog but my guess is that the Oh, I Love That gals have something wonderful to giveaway.  These are my dear friends and I love the blog and contests.  You should check it out HERE.  ETA: I found out that the prize is a SURPRISE!  YAY!  But knowing the OILT girls, it will be most fabulous.

Reminders, Reminders!

Here's Tiff's super fun card for this week's EtsyInspired challenge.  And your reminder to do that challenge so that you can get a chance to win that pretty $45 necklace!  Just make any creation (drawing, card, sculpture, cake, your own necklace, etc...) inspired by the Zeba shop and link it to the ORIGINAL post to be entered in the Random.Brady drawing to win.

And don't forget about the EtsyInspired Eight design team call!  Click HERE for deets!  

Flutter By Wednesday #41

It's Wednesday again!  Time for Danni's Flutter By Wednesday!  I saw a card from Lori Craig that I wanted to CASE on Sunday and I never got around to it so I used it here.  HERE is the card I CASEd.  I changed the main image (Autumn Leaves Butterfly on mine), the colors, ribbon, and I used more butterflies (Martha Stewart punch) instead of bees.  This card is covered in Stickles, I love me some Stickles!  

Don't forget that Danni is offering blog candy all this month if you participate in the challenge!  All you have to do is make a card with a butterfly and link it up on her blog.  Easy peasy!  It's awesome blog candy too, I wish I could win!    

Yes We Can!

Here's the slightly cheesy and super simple card I made for Inauguration Day.  What can I say?  I wanted something to capture the moment but I have very little mojo.  I'm just dealing with a lot of junk that's going on with my family.  

But if you know me at all, you should know that today is a day for celebration!  I am a strong believer in equality for all people.  I admire people who can overcome adversity to aspire to greatness.  And I find a lot of hope in this nation as today we make history.  It fills my heart with joy to look at my mixed race son and know that he can be ANYTHING he wants, even the president.  

Case of the Mondays

I can't believe I didn't blog yet today! I've been meaning to all day but today has been quite rough. I woke up with horrible back, neck, and hip pain. Brady's early terrible twos were out in full force. I tried to take a nap and ended up with horrible dreams and a throbbing headache. But after a couple Tylenol and a bath for Brady, the day ended on a high note.

This is a card I made for VSN, it was for Sara's challenge to be inspired by a lovely box of chocolates she had a pictures of. I was inspired by the colors and the butterflies remind me a bit of a mosaic. I guess this weekend was a weekend for the Unity August KOTM. This butterfly and the sentiment are both from the set.

I've Got a Crush!

On VSN mini that is.  Well, that and Jonathan Rhys Myers from the Tudors but that's another post for another blog.  VSN mini however is a post for now on this blog!  :)  I had so much fun yesterday learning new techniques, finding new places for inspiration, and chatting with new friends.  Hopefully, I will see YOU at the next VSN in February.  Here are a few projects I made:

This is for the something old, new, borrowed, and blue challenge.  I made this card to look like my husband and I.  His favorite colors are orange and blue, can you tell?  I used Shimmerz for the first time on my pink coat, I really need to learn how to take better pictures of the Shimmerz, they are so much fun!  I usually take pictures in indirect light as opposed to direct sunlight since I don't want to over expose my pictures but that might be just the thing for Shimmerz.  Also, I used Crystal Effects on the puddle but you can't see that either.  I think that could be solved by the same photography trick.

This is my very first scrapling which is a smaller more narrow card.  Mine is actually 2 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall.  It's a fun way to use up scraps.  This uses Unity's August KOTM.

This card is for the "Tender Love" challenge to make a card with something soft.  My soft thing is the felt flower.  I wanted to make a kid card since I'm still trying to make cards for the Cards for Kids thing.  The image is from Pink Cat Studio.

Here's my first A2 Box and I was so worried about how it would turn out.  I don't do a lot of 3D projects but every time I do, I'm always surprised at how easy they are!  I need to get over my fear!  This uses Unity's August KOTM again.

Hugged My Heart #23 LAST ONE!

I've decided that my blogging has become way too scheduled and I need some more freedom.  From now on, hugged my heart will be more of a random shout out thing for when I see something that I really like, really inspires me, or that I really want to share with you all.  I don't know what I'll do about weekly Brady pictures though.  Maybe just random ones here and there.

This is Brady star head.  I guess when you get bored of your giant alphabet foam puzzle the next logical thing to do is put a piece on your head, grab your shovel, and head into mommy's office.  :)

Here's this week's list:

1. THIS post by Lauren Meader.  Just when I start to forget why I am like number one in the Lauren Meader fan club, you get a post like this and then I remember.  Not only is she talented beyond my dreams but she has a heart of absolute gold.  The first project she shows on this post is a gift for one of her readers who lost a child and had a hard time scrapping pictures of her.  Lauren (who rarely scraps btw) make a very special project for her and shares their story.  Grab your tissues people!

2. VSN.  Virtual Stamp Night on Splitcoast.  I love it!  It's a couple days full of challenges for paper crafters to try.  There's new challenges you've never seen before, some of which were really hard for me.  There's lots of chatting and making new friends.  And lots of projects people are sharing for inspiration.  The next one is Feb 20-21!  I can't wait!

3. Blogger Group #9.  I was lucky enough to join this blogger group and everyone is so friendly and leaves comments for me!  It's wonderful to meet new people and see new blogs.  I have a list of everyone on the right side of my blog.  

Have a great week everyone!

EtsyInspired #19 Winner

Congratulations to Shannon for winning last week's EtsyInspired challenge!  Random.Brady choose you to be the winner!  YAY!  I love this water and sky card!  It's just gorgeous!  And the lighthouse on vellum is fantastic!  Shannon, please email me your address and I will ask Equivoque to send you the prize!  Big thanks to Equivoque for a wonderful prize this week and great inspiration!

EtsyInspired #20 ~ Zeba

This week's EtsyInspired artist is Zeba. This shop offers a very eclectic variety of beautiful jewelry. She has everything from playful and fun pieces to my very favorite classy freshwater pearls. There's a little something for everyone here. She even has a section for young ladies! How cute is that? She has a great eye for color and even showing you what type of outfit you might wear with the pieces (from her pictures with mannequins.) It's just a really lovely and eye catching store.

This week, Zeba is offering up a necklace made specifically for this challenge. How cool is that? It's valued at $45! How generous! All you have to do to be entered in the Random.Brady drawing is make any creation that you would like inspired by any piece in the amazing Zeba shop. Then post a link to your creation right here on this very post by next Friday January 23 noon Pacific time and you'll be entered to win this amazing prize! Now, go be EtsyInspired.

This is my card for this week. I wanted to use my little Asian girl since there was a geisha necklace in the shop. And I'm going further with my theory that anything colored pink and red is perfect for Valentine's Day. I was thinking if there was a little Asian girl in the children's hospital, that she might like something a little more personalized.

Here's Lee's sweet ladybug card! I am loving that designer paper she used and those cute ladybugs with the pink sparkles! So very cute!

And here's further proof that Joy and I share a brain. Here's Joy's little geisha gift card holder! Isn't this super cute?

How fun is Christine's take on the inspiration? I love this layout! The colors are perfect and I just adore how she arranged her little pictures to look like a necklace! How smart is that?

Here's Tanis's bright and fun card!  I am in love with these colors!  I'm going to have to make a card with this color combo, it's amazing!  I love this fun and sweet card!

And clearly the rest of my team is MIA. How sad. Actually, that lucky Ryann is on a cruise to Mexico sitting in the warm sun and drinking fruity drinks from a coconut. And Lindsay is still very busy with her hubby recovering from pneumonia. But the rest of the team is MIA! :(