Tuesday, June 30, 2009

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.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

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!
Now go be EtsyInspired! :)

Friday, June 26, 2009

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.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

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!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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! :)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

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.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

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.
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!

Friday, June 19, 2009

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!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Birth Story and More Pictures

I know I usually don't get super personal on my blog but I've been asked several times to post Parker's birth story. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO READ IT! If you are interested, it's here for you. If you are like me (never wanting to know the gory details), look at the pictures and leave a comment. I will be going into detail.

June 13:

2 am: I woke up with a funny feeling. I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital but since I had just been there on Thurs and got sent home, I just waited. I just laid in bed waiting, like a doofus.

3:34 am: My water broke while I was still in bed waiting. I grabbed the towel I had by the bed and ran to the bathroom. I shouted for Dustin. I told Dustin "my water broke" to which he replies "are you serious?" I try very hard not to much him and succeed.

4:20 am: My Mother in Law shows up at our house to watch Brady while we go to the hospital.

4:30am: Get to hospital and check in. At this point, my water has a green color because of Meconium. But they aren't going to check my progress until I am in active labor. They tried to put my IV in and I turned green and told them I was going to pass out. They revive me with smelling salts and we start over again. Fun.

8:30am: I'm done trying to walk around the hospital, mostly since I am leaving a water trail as I go. We decide to start Pitocin.

2pm: I've decided that I'm done feeling contractions since Pitocin makes them much worse. I tell them that I want an epidural. I am at 4 centimeters. The guy came in to give me the epidural and could not get it in on the first try. He has to pull the needle out and start over.
More fun.

5pm: The nurse came in to check me, I'm at 6 centimeters. However, her hands are covered in blood afterwards. A couple minutes later, the room was filled with people and all the lights had been turned on. They unplugged my IV, epidural, and Pitocin. A doctor came in and tried to stretch out my cervix so that he could pull the baby out. After a new minutes, I finally figured out that the baby's heart rate had dropped by half and it was going on 5 mins of being that way. They called for anesthesiology, told the special care nursery to prep, and called the OR. They were preparing to call a code when a couple of the nurses rolled me onto my side and the baby's heart rate went back up to normal. They didn't know what happened.

5:30pm to 9:00pm or later: Hysterical crying on my part. All the while, Dustin kept asking me questions like "should I go to our house and check on the dogs?" "can your mom watch Brady tomorrow while my parents go to a meeting?" I lost it and screamed at him.

10:30pm: My epidural starts wearing off and the nurse doesn't want me to have much more. (MEAN nurse, last time I couldn't feel ANYTHING at all! It was wonderful!) I start telling them that I'm having a lot of pressure. So, they check me and the baby is face up (sunny side up.) They tell me to turn onto my side and try to get the baby to roll over.

11:00pm: I tell them that the pressure is getting worse and I need to push. They check me again. The baby has turned, but not the right way. They roll me over onto my other side. They keep telling me that if I try to get him out sunny side up, it will be harder.

11:15pm: I tell them that I HAVE to push. The midwife tells me that the baby isn't in position yet. I tell her, I HAVE TO PUSH! She rather condescendingly says "Fine, push." SIX minutes later, the baby is out.

11:21pm: Parker is covered with blood from my placenta and Meconium. His lungs have fluid in them. Apparently, my placenta had pulled itself off the wall of my uterus. Parker's cord was wrapped around his shoulder. And because he's such a big baby, they have to check his blood sugar. His blood sugar was REALLY low and they told me we had to give him formula. They checked his blood sugar again, though it was still low, they did not make him go to the special care nursery.

Alright, that leads us to our quest home which was no walk in the park either. But I'm ending this ridiculously long post now. Cookies for you if you made it to the end!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

EIC #40 Reminder and a Big Congratulations to Ashley and Family!

Just a little reminder to make sure you go check out Naturally Felt this week for some inspiration and create a project for your chance to win a set of the reusable sandwich bags! Post a link to your project up on THIS post by Friday at noon PST. Here are a few of Naturally Felt's eco-friendly and stylish items that just might inspire your next great project!



And of course I just have to take a moment to say....

CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY!!!! We are all so happy for you and your family! Having two boys is such a blessing and we all are glad to hear that you and Parker are doing well! Wishing you all the best and hoping you are having a wonderful time getting to know your newest little guy!

Can't wait to see more adorable baby pictures...especially of your two adorable boys together!

~ Kerry

Parker is HERE!



Born June 13, 2009 at 11:21pm. He was 8lbs 15oz and 21 inches. More soon!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Etsy Inspired Challenge #40 - Naturally Felt

It is time for another EtsyInspired Challenge! This week we celebrate our 40th challenge with a stylish, eco-friendly shop, Naturally Felt. I know I am always looking for ways that I can be more 'green' and Naturally Felt is filled with great reusable sandwich and lunch bags in lots of fun and stylish fabrics. Take a peek!



And look at this great lunch bag...how perfect would this be for a boy! Naturally Felt's lunch bags are fully insulated to help keep your food cold for hours.


Are you inspired yet? Or do you just want to go buy one of these great eco-friendly bags?! :)


For more inspiration check out the DT's projects:
And then visit Naturally Felt to find something that inspires you, create a project based on that inspiration and come back here to link your creation up to this post by Friday, June 19th at noon PST for your chance to win this week's prize. Want to know what you're playing for?! This week Naturally Felt will be giving the winner a set of reusable snack/sandwich bags!

If you have never participated in an Etsy Inspired challenge before, check out THIS POST for extra details. And we would love to get to know you better so if you have some time, stop on by our Papercraft Planet Group to introduce yourself too! :)

If you upload your project to SCS or PCP please use keyword EIC40. Now go be EtsyInspired!

Friday, June 12, 2009

EIC39 Winner!!!

The winner this week is...

Ann from raindropecho. You can check out her happy sunshine flower card HERE.

Ann please email De with your snail mail address at stampindeva @ bellsouth dot net.

Thanks to everyone who played along this week and to Chicy Creations for all the wonderful inspiration and prize! Come back tomorrow for a new challenge and inspirational projects from the design team!

Have a great day!

Still Here

Just me again.  Sitting, waiting, wishing...  I went to the doctor yesterday since I thought my amniotic fluid was leaking but it wasn't.  So, here I am back at home.  Sigh...

So, this is a card for Wednesday's SCS sketch challenge.  The stamp set is Unity's Shine On.  The DP is Stampin Up which I found out I have NO card stock to match so I had to improvise.  The black card stock was run through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder, then I used Diamond Stickles to highlight each dot which is something I learned from the amazing Lee Murphy.  

Happy Friday Friends and I hope you have a good weekend!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Enjoy Your Day!

More creating and more blogging while I wait.  I really don't know how a pregnant lady with a toddler can be so BORED but I'm managing.  :)  Nothing new to report today.

This is my card for yesterday's color challenge on SCS.  The challenge was to make a one layer card with only white card stock.  You could just different colors of ink though.  The flowers are Unity's Flowers From Neverland.  The sentiment is from Unity's May Kit of the Month.  The ribbon is from the dollar bin at Target.  Easy peasy!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

EIC39 Reminder!

You still have a few more days to participate in this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge for your chance to win a beautiful hair clip from Chicy Creations!

Just visit Chicy Creations Etsy shop to find some inspiration...which shouldn't be hard since it is full of adorable items and ribbons galore! :)

Here are a few more of my favorites:



Then use your inspiration to create your own project...remember it can be just about anything you're inspired to create...cards, layouts, a painting, a cake! :)

Be sure to link your projects up HERE by Friday at noon PST. Now go be EtsyInspired!

I Lied

I honestly thought I was going to stop crafting and blogging but I'm just so bored these days.  The waiting is KILLING me!  I went to the doctor's office today and I've made no progress since last week.  Sigh...

Anyhow, this is for the Clean and Simple challenge on SCS this week.  The challenge was to make a card with pink/coral, Kraft, and another color.  I used brown as my other color and white as a neutral.  Maybe I cheated, I don't know.  The stamps are from Unity's March KOTM.  I just added a little ribbon and done.  That's pretty much my attention span these days though.

Happy Tuesday friends!  Send lots of going into labor thoughts my way please!!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Amy's Giving Away Books!

I'm not sure if I've blogged about Chic Book Reviews yet but I really should have a long time ago.  My friend Amy is the creator of the blog and she is always doing fun book reviews AND tons of giveaways!  This book >>> is her current giveaway.  How cute is that?  I think every parent should get a book like this.  I know the first time we took Brady to the ER it was completely unnecessary but we just freaked out!

Anyhow, you NEED to check out the Chic Book Reviews blog!  Amy does a giveaway EVERY Friday and lots of times, there are giveaways in between.  I've already won a book from her!  She's super generous!  PS You should also follow her blog, when she gets to 200 follower, she's gonna host a BIG giveaway!  I can't wait!  

The Wait Continues

I figured since I'm just sitting around waiting to go into labor,  I'd do a blog post.  Nothing is really happening here, well other than my family life is super stressful.  But I meant with my pregnancy.  Seems like the baby is super comfy and doesn't want to come out.  Sigh...I'm dying here!

This is a card I made for the Stampin Out Alzheimer's event.  I just haven't posted it yet.  The challenge was to make a pink and brown card with only two kinds of embellishments.  I used Shimmerz on the flowers and ribbon.  The stamp is Unity Stamp Co's May KOTM.  

That's all from me today.  Happy Monday friends!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Come Join My Virtual Shower!!

Here's the link! http://ashleysbabyshower.ning.com
We'll be there from 5pm-6pm Pacific! So, for the next hour! Come on over!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Etsy Inspired Challenge #39 - Chicy Creations

Happy Saturday everyone! Are you ready for another Etsy Inspired Challenge? If you have a special little girl in your life you are going to love this week's shop, Chicy Creations. It is filled with the cutest hair bows, tutus, and onesies. Just look at these adorable items!


I just love the ribbons and flowers she uses for her hair accessories...so bright and fun! Perfect for any little girl!



How precious is that baby girl in the tutu! What a sweet picture!

For this week's prize, Chicy Creations is offering up this beautiful Red Rose Velvet Hair Clip.

All you have to do is go check out Chicy Creation's shop and find an item that inspires you. Then create a project of your own and link it back up to this post by Friday, June 12th at noon PST for your chance to win this week's prize.

If you have never participated in an Etsy Inspired challenge before, check out THIS POST for extra details. And we would love to get to know you better so if you have some time, stop on by our Papercraft Planet Group to introduce yourself too! :)

Now be sure to check out the Design Team's blogs to see what fabulousness they have created for you this week! And please welcome our new Guest Designers...Carole and Jenn!
If you upload your project to SCS or PCP please use keyword EIC39. Now go be EtsyInspired!

Friday, June 5, 2009

EIC 38 WINNER!!!

Well, there were some great cards submitted this week but the winner via random.Kerry (sorry no adorable Brady picture for awhile) is......

Patti J.

Congratulations! It was Patti's first time participating in the Etsy Inspired Challenge...check out her beautiful card HERE. Patti please email me with your snail mail address at capturingcreativity@hotmail.com and I will pass on your information to Kristen who was so kind to offer up our prize this week!

A big thanks to Bacon Square Farm for all the wonderful inspiration! Be sure to check back tomorrow morning for our newest featured shop/challenge.

HHH, My Last for a While

So, sadly, I think this is going to be my last Hip Hop Hangover post for a while.  I actually wasn't even going to do one but since I have some cards already made, I figured I might as well.  

This first card was made for Lisa's Limelight Anniversary challenge to use the colors passion pink, summer sun, and chocolate chip.  I don't have those colors so I tried to come as close as I could with what I have.  The stamp is from Unity's Everyday Adorable.  Such a fun set!  I love it!  I used Stickles on the chick and the flower.  This actually has a lot of embellishments for me.  A prima, ribbon, dew drops, and a brad.  I also put Stickles on my brad since I refuse to pay extra for the glittery ones.  But I still think it manages to look clean and simple.  

This next card is the SCS card sketch from this week.  Again, lots more layers than I'm used to, but still looking rather clean.  Maybe I'm getting good at this.  :)  This is paper that my sweet friend and DT member Kristen sent to me.  It's Autumn Leaves.  The stamp is from Unity's March KOTM.  I added a little bit of Stickles to the flower on the sentiment and that's it!

Happy Friday everyone!  Check back tomorrow for a new EtsyInspired Challenge!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

EIC #38 Reminder!

Hey everyone...Kerry here...just posting a reminder to get your Etsy Inspired projects done by Friday at noon PST. This week's shop Bacon Square Farm has tons for you to be inspired by and Kristen has a Unity stamp for the winner!

Here are a few items from Bacon Square Farm's shop to help get your creative juices flowing...



Be sure to link up your fabulous creations HERE...I can't wait to see your projects! :) Now, as Ashley would say, go be EtsyInspired!