AiFactory Challenge 5 and a POP UP FREEBIE!!

Sorry for the late post! I'm exhausted. I spent most of the day yesterday at Kaiser trying to figure out what is wrong with me. Turns out I have bronchitis. I'm still waiting to find out what my lab results turn up too.

This week's AiFactory challenge is so fun! The DT are featuring the adorable new faces of AiFactory, Alicia and Ivan. They are so cute and perfect for winter time cards. The challenge this week is to use AT LEAST three layers on your card and do something out of your comfort zone like a new techniq

ue or use an embellishment you don't normally use.

Here's my card. I used FIVE layers, that's a whole lot for me. :) I flipped Ivan in Photoshop for this card so that they would be facing each other. The designer paper is Sassafrass. The embellishment that I don't normally use is the chipboard sentiment. I added a pearl and some ribbon to finish off the card.

Check out THIS POST on the AiFactory Challenge blog for details on how to enter and for links to the DT! :)

BUT WAIT!! I also have the POP UP FREEBIE! :) It's the AWESOME vintage background. This is perfect for card making or scrap booking. If you would like to get your FREE background digi paper, join the Popup Freebies group on AiFactory's community. Then send a message to Mia (she's the leader of the group and AiFactory's amazing owner) telling her that you'd like the freebie. Use password: Vintage. :)

EtsyInspired #55 ~ The Salty Cat Co

Sorry for the SUPER late post! I am feeling HORRIBLE right now. I have to go get blood work done on Monday. I am just beat. I took FOUR naps yesterday and I was still in bed by 8pm. I remembered I was supposed to do a post but I couldn't pull myself out of bed to do it. :(

Okay, this week's shop is a GORGEOUS jewelry shop called The Salty Cat Co. She has modern metal jewelry that's made out of brass, copper, and sterling silver. She also has pretty beaded jewelry made out of gems and pearls. You should check out this shop! I LOVE IT!

This week, The Salt Cat Co is offering up this stunning Bamboo Copper Etched Bracelet as a prize. Wow, I wish I could win! All you have to do is go to The Salty Cat Co store and choose an item to be inspired by. Make any creation and link it to the EtsyInspired challenge blog for THIS CHALLENGE. Entries are due by Friday Oct 2, noon Pacific time. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword EIC55.

In addition to the stunning bracelet, the Unity Stamp Co is sponsoring another prize for this week. One additional winner will win this awesome stamp set, Folk Inspired. The winners will be drawn randomly. What are you waiting for? Go be EtsyInspired!!

I don't have a card for you this week. I feel like death. But check out my awesome DT, they have lots of inspiration!

De Swanick

Emily Niehaus

Heather Schlatter

Jackie Bowman (Jackie's computer died and may not have a post)

Joy Stagg

Kerry Angeles

Kristen Dyer

Lee Murphy

Sarah Parker (Sept Guest)

Shannon Bracken

Tiffany Johnson (Tiff is cameraless... leave her some love!)

And as this is our last challenge for September, we say a special thank you and goodbye to Sarah Parker. Sarah, you have been a wonderful addition to our team this month...thank you for sharing your talent with us! You can keep an eye on Sarah and her work by following her blog HERE.

Friends With Flair 9-25

Creative title huh? I'm so drained! I might take the next week off blogging other than my DT work. I'm exhausted and a little burnt out but I guess that was to be expected. I did start blogging and creating again shortly after Parker was born.

Here's my card for this week. It's based on the SCS CAS challenge this week. I'm not in love with it but I quite frankly don't have it in me to make anything else. The stamps are Unity's Feel the Joy and the designer paper is Target dollar spot. You know, that's how I roll. :)

Happy Friday!

Softpencil Thursday

Woohoo! It's Thursday and that means it's time for a Softpencil project! This week, we got to use the Peter and His Clothes set. The theme is "about you" so we can make anything we'd like about us.

I made a card using the SCS sketch challenge from this week. I made Peter to look like Brady. Of course, Brady would wear overalls so I cut those out and put them on him. And Brady LOVES dogs so I gave him a little doggie friend. The designer paper is from a Target dollar spot package. The sentiment is from Unity's Tiny Trinity.

This is also my card for Nikki's challenge. She challenged us to make a card for a sick child. I will be sending it to a child from the Make A Child Smile organization. Thanks Nikki for telling me about this awesome organization! I have LOTS of cards to send off! :) This is also fitting with the "about me" theme since I love to help others. It's a goal of mine to reach out more than necessary.

Blog Candy For a Cause: Spread the Word!

Earlier today I was contacted by one of my blog readers, Nikki. Nikki is offering up this HUGE blog candy and asked me to help spread the word. Now, before everyone comes emailing me about their blog candy, the reason I agreed to write a whole post for Nikki is that she has a wonderful CAUSE behind her blog candy.

Nikki is trying to raise money for her friend and fellow crafter Priscilla. Priscilla was recently diagnosed with cancer. On top of that, Priscilla's husband and daughter have some health issues as well. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Priscilla and her hubby lost their jobs AND their medical insurance. Nikki has set up a medical fund for her friend Priscilla. To be entered in this awesome blog candy, all you have to do is donate $5 to the medical fund. Now, I know that times are tough for everyone (us included) but if everyone could donate just $5, think of what a miracle that would be. Priscilla would be able to still afford her cancer treatment. Go HERE for details.

Nikki also has a challenge in honor of Priscilla, just make a card for a sick child. She has listed the Make a Child Smile organization as a way you can help or make a card for any sick child. She has another blog candy for this challenge. Click HERE to read about that.

Now, if you don't have the time or money to help in these ways, that's ok too. Not everyone can. But everyone CAN spread the word. Tell a friend, write an email, post it on your blog or website or Facebook or Twitter. That's my challenge to you. Do what you can and feel better about yourself. Hugs!

Blog Candy

I'm gonna list some blog candies right here. :)

Cabio

Squiggle Stamps
Lana (pictured here)

Denami Designs Blog Candy

***Please scroll down for my AiFactory post for today!***

Just a quick note that Denami Designs is offering up a $50 gift certificate as blog candy! Woohoo! They have CUTE stamps! Check out the details HERE.

AiFactory Challenge 4

It's Tuesday and time for another AiFactory challenge on at the challenge blog! This week, the prize is a cool Photoshop brush set for Halloween called The Haunted Tags and Quotes. We are having a lot of fun gearing up for Halloween! I got confused and thought that we were supposed to make a tag but in actuality the prize was a "tag" kit. So, I made a tag. What can you do?

I did, however, include the challenge that we were actually issued when I made the tag. Erin issued the challenge this week and it was a tough one for me! It's a color challenge. The colors to use are purple, red, orange, yellow and black. I'm gonna add the swatch that she gave us so it doesn't overwhelm you too much. I think it's easier once you see it all together. Now, it's a challenge for me since you know how I like to use just a few colors per project.

So, I used ALL the colors given and made a tag. Quite a feat for me! I used a couple of Marvy tag punches. I printed out the cat image rather small to fit it on this tag. I colored it with some markers. I added some Black Diamond Stickles to the edge of the image and some purple rhinestones. And I added some ribbon.

Check out the DT:
Carole
Elizabeth
Erin
Kerry
Lola
Mia
AiFactory Challenge Blog (LINK POSTS HERE)

Sorry for the small project this week! I'm just super overwhelmed with personal stuff and just everything going on. Also, if I owe you a prize, I am still in the process of sending it. I had to wait until this pay period to do so. They are coming soon!

Heather's Blog Candy!!

My sweet friend Heather is having blog candy to celebrate her blog anniversary, so of course, I've gotta blog about it for her. She's my sweet caring DT member. Have you ever gotten a comment from Heather? If so, you know that she's a doll. I remember being very newly pregnant and having concerns and this person I barely knew took the time to write down a whole long comment to me to reassure me. So, do yourself a favor comment on Heather's blog candy HERE and get to know her. She's the best.

Embellish Call

The lovely Ashley Cannon Newell and her hubby are starting up a new online magazine called Embellish. Now, since Ashley is as sweet as sugar, I just had to make something to try out. I don't normally make cards specifically for calls since I don't really work well like that. But I thought I should at least give it a try to show Ashley that I love what she's doing!

The challenge is to use the colors red, turquoise (or light blue), kraft, and brown with white and cream being optional. Also, you should use twine on your creation. This is what I came up with. I love love love this fluttering heart from Unity's Aug 09 KOTM! I could kiss whoever designed it! The sentiment is from the same set. I just dressed the stamp up with some Spica pen and cut it out. The DP is SU. And the twine is just gardening twine from the dollar section at Target.

Happy Monday and go submit your creations for this awesome new magazine! Also, they are having a challenge over there right now!

Caardvarks Sketchfest

***ETA: Picture has been redone***

Today is the first day of the Caardvark's Sketchfest event. It's been a CRAZY crazy day around here. I'm just getting around to talking a picture of this card and even that task was a HUGE ordeal. So, I had to take this with flash. I'm gonna re-do it tomorrow.

I used the first sketchfest sketch and the color and embellishment challenge over at Embellish Magazine. The main image is Softpencil. It's the Loving Birds digi stamp. The sentiment is Unity Stamp Co, from the old Mix Up of Cuteness set. I'm not sure what's in the set now.

Cinema Saturday Challenge 50...Well Sort Of...

The beautiful and talented Sankari Wegmen and her friend Brooke have a fun challenge called Cinema Saturdays. They pick a movie and you make a card based on the movie. Super fun! This week, they are celebrating their 50th challenge! And they picked Pretty Woman as the movie.

So, I kind of messed up on the challenge. This week's challenge was actually Pretty Woman AND paper piecing. I forgot that last part. :( I'll try to make another card soon. Hopefully, I'll have some time. But this is what I made.

I love the scene where Julia Roberts is in the bathtub so I picked this cute Stamping Bella image. The paper is Basic Grey. The sentiment is Unity from the June KOTM. The flowers are Prima and the rhinestones are Darice. I covered the bubbles in Star Dust Stickles but it's really hard to see when I get the proper exposure on the pictures.

Anyhow, check out the challenge and don't mess up like I did! Happy Sunday!

For Meelah's Birthday

A Sunday Confession: I am feeling like the world's most awful mom today! Last night, I was in bed at the late hour of 9:30pm. I thought Dustin had opened the door to the baby's room since we do it every night but he didn't. I didn't ask him, I just heard him close Brady's door and then I heard another door open and I assumed. Come 4am, I woke with a jolt and thought for SURE the baby had stopped breathing, why else would he have not woken up by now?? I ran to the baby's room to see the door was closed. He was fine, of course. But I'm not sure if he cried at all last night and I didn't hear him. :( His room is next to ours, he's just on the other side of the wall but still. I can't be sure and it makes me so sad!

On to the card. Yesterday, we went to Brady and Parker's friend Meelah's first birthday. She is so sweet and so cute! I wanted to make an extra girlie card for her. I used the sketch/product challenge from Limelight Papercrafts. The product challenge was patterned paper and I USED that as you can see. I also used the Paper Maniac challenge, to use ribbon. Those three purple strips are American Crafts ribbon. The pink paper is SU. The purple paper is PTI. The image is CC Designs.

Happy Sunday everyone!

EtsyInspired #54 ~ I Heart Flowers

This week's EtsyInspired shop is I Heart Flowers. This shop is full of beautiful jewelry and pretty photographs. The jewelry is all one of a kind and mostly made with vintage or antique pieces that the owner picks up at different shops. She takes the found pieces and makes new beautiful jewelry. Pretty cool, huh? She also takes beautiful photographs of flowers. I love the vibrant colors of the pictures and how she captures nature so beautifully. They come in various different sizes (you can ask for which size you want) and are perfect for decorating your home with.

This week, I Heart Flowers is offering up these lovely earrings for a prize. All you have to do is go to the I Heart Flowers shop and pick an item to be inspired by. Make any creation that you wish and link it up to the EtsyInspired #54 post on the EtsyInspired blog by Friday Sept 25, noon Pacific time. A random winner will be drawn by Random.Brady and posted on the EtsyInspired blog on Friday afternoon. You can enter as many times as you like as long as you make a new creation. If you upload to an online gallery like SCS or PCP, please use keyword EIC54. Now, go be EtsyInspired!

Here is my card for this week. It is inspired by the picture above. I used the colors on the flowers as my inspiration. The paisley paper is Making Memories, the pink paper is SU. The stamps are from Unity's August 08 KOTM. This is my card for this week's 2 Sketches 4 You challenge as well.

Check out the awesome DT too!

De Swanick

Emily Niehaus

Heather Schlatter (is having a family emergency)

Jackie Bowman

Joy Stagg

Kerry Angeles

Kristen Dyer

Lee Murphy

Sarah Parker (Sept Guest)

Shannon Bracken

Tiffany Johnson

FWF: Happy Late Birthday Ryann!!

Happy Friday everyone and welcome to my Friends with Flair Unity post! :) I'm a little behind on my crafting this week. I try to get as much done as I can on hubby's days off but sometimes, thing just get in the way. Anyhow, I'm totally late making/posting birthday cards for my SWEET friend Ryann who I just adore! So, I'm dedicating this entire post to her. (I heart you Ryann!)

I made two cards and I'm not sure which one I like better. Unfortunately, neither one has been put in the mail yet. :( The first one uses SCS's sketch challenge for this week. The stamp is Unity from the August 09 KOTM. The DP is SU and the embossing folder is Swiss Dots. I added Cotton Candy Stickles to the cupcake papers and Frosted Lace Stickles to the white part of the cake stand but you can't really see either.

The next card I made is a CASE. Tiff told me to CASE Ryann since that's a big form of flattery. Normally, it's really easy for me to pick a card to CASE since only a couple things appeal to me out of a gallery, but not with Ryann. I could CASE her all day long! I love her style!

HERE is the card I CASEd. I changed the stamp set (to Unity's Birthday Chic), the designer paper, and the ribbon color. I also popped the present up on my dimensionals and added Stickles to it. This was colored with Primsacolor pencils and baby oil.

I hope you like the cards Ryann! Let me know which one I should send over! :) Happy Friday everyone! Come back tomorrow for some EtsyInspired!

A Softpencil Halloween

It's Thursday and that mean it's Softpencil day! Hooray! I love Softpencil so that makes me pretty darn happy! :) This week, the design team is showing off projects that you can make for Halloween with this cute Little Witch digi stamp. Now, if this sounds like deja vu, it's because I did the same assignment earlier this week for AiFactory.

I use THIS tutorial by the amazing Laurie Schmidlin as inspiration for this box. It's an adorable size, perfect for giving a little treat to a special someone. I made the box out of black card stock and covered it with some NRN Designs paper that Ryann gave me. Then I added a little scalloped circle and on top of that, my cute little witch is attached with some pop dots.

Please check out the rest of the Softpencil team, their links are in my side bar. <<<<

PS Elizabeth is giving out Softpencil blog candy. Check out the details HERE.

My Green Eyed Boy

I had the absolute pleasure of having pictures done by my friend Amy of Amy Leigh Photography again. She's one of the best photographers I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And I know quite a few. Look at her way with color. To die for.

Anyhow, these were actually taken last month. He's changed so much already, I'm actually starting to tear up. He'd now just over 3 months and when we weighed him at home last time, he was 18 pounds. He's a BIG boy. He's as sweet as sugar though. This phase we are in right now, the infant stage is my favorite. I think it's the stage that makes people want to have more children since they are as cute and as sweet as can be.

Not that I want to have more kids any time soon. But chubby baby cheeks might be my favorite thing of ALL time. Happy sigh... I'd forgotten what it was like to be so head over heels crazy for someone who can't even talk or reciprocate in any way. But I SWEAR that he looks at me like he loves me. My Parker. My sweet little ray of sunshine.

No card today, sorry. I've been busy with the "creation" pictured here. :) Happy Wednesday!

AiFactory Challenge 3

It's Tuesday and that means another AiFactory challenge on the challenge blog! This week's challenge is a super fun one! We are supposed to make a Halloween item using Softpencil's adorable Little Witch. How cute is this little stamp for Halloween? I love her!

This week, I made a little pizza box from the tutorial by Jen Del Muro. You can find it on SCS HERE. It's perfect for tucking away a few little candies for your kids or any special someone. The background here is a spider web embossing folder. It was a WishRAK item done on white paper. I sponged it with black Memento ink ad then covered it with Black Diamond Stickles for some sparkle. The little witch is colored with markers, cut out and put on with pop dots. And then I finished with some bling.

Hop on over to the AiFactory Challenge blog to read all the details. Play along and you could win a prize!

Check out the DT for some more awesome inspiration!
Ashley
Carole
Elizabeth
Erin
Kerry
Mia
AiFactory Challenge Blog (LINK POSTS HERE)

Can't Resist Anymore!!

Only about two months and a week left!! I need to get me one of those Twilight counters! I've been reduced to a teeny bopper over this whole thing. I'm going to the midnight showing with a couple of my friends and their teenaged daughters and nieces. We are going to have a t-shirt decorating party too. :) Woohoo!

But for now, eye candy! Glorious eye candy! I'm on Team Edward but Taylor Lautner is too cute not to post on my blog. That boy is way too attractive for his own good. Though I imagine many many other women/girls feel this way.

Did you see the new extended trailer that was on the VMAs?? I loved it!

So, that's it for me. Just chit chat. Come back tomorrow for a "real" post. :)

A Card for Paige

Erin over at Scrap, Stamp and be Merry is doing a little card drive for her neighbor Paige. The sweet girl was in a boating accident and lost part of her arm. She and her family have been flooded with toys and flowers, etc... However, there's always room for some cards, right? You can ready about the card drive HERE.

I hope this card isn't too young for 13 year old Paige and I hope she likes dogs. I thought it was just kind of a cute card just to say hi. The image is from Softpencil, it's called Welcome to My Home. How cute is that? I colored the doggie and his house with Prismacolor pencils and blended with baby oil. The designer paper and the letter stickers are DCWV.

Happy Monday everyone!

Another CASE of PMS

Last week, Paper Makeup Stamps had another release party. Unfortunately, I was a day late and a dollar short. :( I got my days ALL mixed up and showed up on Tuesday. But I still got to do the card challenges.

One of their challenges is called "A CASE of PMS." Teehee! I find the name hilarious! You just pick a card for the PMS gallery on SCS and CASE it. I CASEd a card for Lorie Ames, you can see it HERE. I changed, the stamp, the colors, used fewer layers, and added some dew drops. :)

This fairy (PMS's Sprout) reminded me of a *certain* someone so I colored her to look like my friend. She had long brown hair. She's very pretty. She owns an awesome stamp company. She loves makeup. Can you guess who my friend is?? ;) It's Katie Cotton! Do you see it?

Also, I found some blog candy on Amy's blog. You should check it out!

EtsyInspired #53 ~ Pinky's Pet Gear

If you are looking for the MAIN EtsyInspired post where you should link your creations, please go to the EtsyInspired blog. Thanks!

This week's fun shop is Pinky's Pet Gear. They make collars for dogs and cats in all sorts of fun and stylish fabrics. They also offer leashes and cat toys like fun cat nip. Super cute! She is giving away a dog collar and leash set as a prize. Or if the winner has a cat, she'll giveaway two collars instead of the leash.

In addition, we have a great sponsor this week. The Digi Shack is offering up a $15 gift certificate! They have some really cute digi stamps! I love Lani, the pretty girl that's in their shop. She's just adorable. The design team will be showing off some ADORABLE new releases from The Digi Shack.

Here's my card for this week. I used the Lani Witch image. Isn't she perfect for Halloween? I was inspired by the collar above.

• De Swanick
  
• Emily Niehaus
• Heather Schlatter
• Jackie Bowman
• Joy Stagg
• Kerry Angeles
  
• Kristen Dyer
• Lee Murphy (is on the road, her post will be up later)
  
• Sarah Parker (Sept Guest)
  
• Shannon Bracken
• Tiffany Johnson

Wow! Look at This Blog Candy!

Later on this month, some gals are starting a challenge blog called Saturday Spotlight With Hidden Potential. What a fun concept! They are offering up this awesome blog candy BEFORE they even start! Wow! That's so cool! Check out the details HERE.

Friends With FLAIR!

I have to apologize for my late post. I actually didn't think that I had made it onto the friends with flair list because my post number was like 52 and there were tons of people in front of me. But when I went to the Unity blog this morning, there I was, last on the list. Good thing the post below this one has Unity on it!

So, here's a card I made a little while ago. Like I said, I didn't think I was going to be on the Friends with Flair so I didn't make anything new. This is a super simple one layer card that I made with Unity's August 09 KOTM which I love just as much as the August 08 kit and that's A LOT! :) I couldn't get this card to lay flat when I took the picture so it all looks a little crooked.

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Get Sketchy 4

The kids allowed me a little time this morning to make a card. I know, isn't that nice of them? Actually, the baby was playing and Brady was eating. But that's permission enough for me. :)

I decided to try the Get Sketchy sketch for this week. If you hadn't already noticed, this heart from Unity's August 09 KOTM is my current favorite stamp. I love love love it! I use it for everything, it's my go-to right now. The sentiment is from the same set. The yellow papers are Bo Bunny and I'm not sure what the red paper is, it was a RAK. There's a bit of bling in the corner and some gold Spica pen on the wings. This is also for SCS's Ways To Use It challenge, to use red.

SoftPencil Thursday

I am so happy and honored to be joining the SoftPencil Thursday posts! Each Thursday, the design team uses an image and has a theme for their projects. The stamp this week is Sleeping and Dreaming. The challenge is to make a square card.

Isn't this image the sweetest thing? I would love to see one of my boys and one of our pets sleeping under a tree. Awww, so sweet! The designer paper is just from the dollar section at Target. I used Prismacolor pencils for this image. Then I added some sheer white ribbon and a little chipboard circle that says DREAM on it.

Please check out the rest of the team for more inspiration! They are in my sidebar to the left.

Reminder! Scor-Pal Giveaway!

If you want to win the Scor-Pal prize pack and who wouldn't!? You still have time! Go HERE to start the blog hop and leave comments on each post! A winner will be picked RANDOMLY amongst all the posts. Also, please do the challenge, it's super easy! Make an item that's inspired by anything on Etsy.com. Easy peasy!

Celebrate with TORENDI

Today's the big day! Torendi is now open! You all should check out all the awesome stuff that Jenn has available! I am in love with BamPop! The images are perfect for Brady AND Dustin. ;)

I made a little celebration card in honor of my sweet friends and the shop opening. This pretty girl is Katy and her Balloons from Rubber Romance. The sentiment is from Unity's Birthday Chic. I'm not sure what the paper is. I used three different kinds of Stickles. It's a one layer card. I know, I'm shocked too.

Happy Wednesday people! Go check out Torendi and SYTYCD season 6 starts tonight, it's a good day!

Pretty Hat Anya and Jackie's Stitching Challenge

I made this card for Jackie's challenge on the Stamp a Sweet Impression blog. I was really hoping to play along more but I've had a busy weekend hanging out with family and friends. Though I love to stamp, I gotta see my family and friends first. :)

The stamps on this card are from The Greeting Farm's Pretty Hat Anya set. I love Anya, she's adorable! And how cute is her little dog? The designer paper is a handmade paper I got a long time ago from somewhere online. It's really rich and thick with a lovely texture to it. I just added two different colors of faux stitching. Please forgive my white crooked stitching, I promise I wasn't drinking just sleep deprived. :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

AiFactory Blog Challenge 2

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another AiFactory challenge on the challenge blog! YAY! This week we are giving away the adorable Sweet Bugs in the Garden set. All the design team members will be using this set so you'll get lots of inspiration.

This week, I'm issuing the challenge and it's a special one. We are making cards for Kate who is a sweet little girl that was recently diagnosed with cancer. You can read her story HERE. Along with our challenge, if you send your card into the cards for Kate drive you can win prizes from Jennifer McGuire and her friends. You can read about that drive HERE.

I made another digi card this week. I couldn't really get it how I wanted being that this was rather emotional card for me. My grandfather who recently passed away used to always say that ladybugs are good luck. He and Miko (his wife) believed this. When my Grandpa had a stroke about 10 years ago, a friend came by with a ladybug magnet for good luck. That day, he started getting better. Soon after, Miko filled his room with ladybug items and not too long after that, he was home and better. Every time he got sick, I used to send him ladybugs for good luck and they always came through for me.

So, that's the story behind my card. I know it's super simple. It's a 4 inch square digi card. You can print out your digi cards and mail them just like a regular card OR you can send them to your friends and family via email which is pretty cool too.

Please play along with us! You'll be doing a kind gesture for this family and you can be entered to win a lot of prizes. Entries are due on the challenge blog post HERE by next Monday Sept 14 by midnight. I will pick a winner for the adorable digi set and post it on the blog next Tues.

Blog Candy Winner and Award Winners

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

13 

Timestamp: 2009-09-07 18:45:02 UTC

My blog candy winner for my box of surprise stuff is GWEN! YAY Gwen! Please email me your address and I will get you the goodies! :)

Also, Tanis, Jacquie and Cathy won our first ever awards ceremony awards for longest player, most wins, and most dedicated (in that order.) Please email me your addresses and I will mail you an Etsy prize pack.

EtsyInspired #52 ~ BIRTHDAY BASH!!!

Woohoo! We made it to a year! I'm beyond excited! Thanks so much for joining us and helping make this a success! :) If you need the rules to how this whole thing works, please scroll down to the post below this!

This week is going to be a little different. We are doing PLAYER'S CHOICE! That means, YOU get to show me what inspires you on Etsy.com. Pick anything you'd like and make anything you'd like! The winner will get a $15 gift certificate from Softpencil! Eeeek! I am in LOVE with the digi stamps there! They are the CUTEST! Also, someone that does the blog hop will win the Scor-Pal GRAND prize, a Scor-Pal, Scor-Mat, Scor-Bug, and Scor-Tool.

The shop I picked for this week is Cashmere Cuddles. My sweet friend Teri runs this shop. She makes adorable dresses for babies, superhero capes, nursing covers and her specialty is baby carriers. I love her choice in lux fabrics! Really beautiful! Since she's a mom, she really has designed these with a mom (and her aching back) in mind. The carriers come with leg gussets for leg up position for the baby. She also offers obi sashes and wide infant sashes (robozo) for even more support. And you can get it all custom made to order!

Here's my card based on the carrier above. I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for the layout. The designer paper is Basic Grey. The stamps are Unity, flowers from this August's KOTM, sentiment from last August's KOTM. The flowers are Prima, pearls are Kaiser Craft, rhinestones are from Joann's dollar section, and the Stickles are Cotton Candy.

Now, I'm going to send you to September's AMAZING guest designer Sarah Martina Parker. She is awesome and a real up and coming talent! I'm so happy to have her this month! Please give her a warm welcome!

EIC Birthday Bash: schedule, rules, and mush from me

Today is the big day! I feel like a proud mama on her baby's birthday. Thanks for joining us! It's gonna be a fun day!!

Schedule:
BLOG HOP: The blog hop officially starts at 7am Pacific time. Make sure to leave comments on each blog since I will be picking a blog and a commenter using Random.Org once the whole thing is all over. You have until Friday Sept 11 noon Pacific time to finish the blog hop. I will draw the winner after that for the Scor-Pal, Scor-Mat, Scor-Bug, and Scor-Tool.

PARTY: The party will be on our Paper Craft Planet group from 11am-2pm Pacific time. There will be games, a challenge, awards given out to players (with prizes), chatting, and more prizes!

Rules:
~To win the grand prize (SCOR-PAL prize pack) you MUST do the blog hop and challenge. It's a big prize, so I'm requiring both. One winner will be drawn from ALL the comments left on the blogs randomly to win.
~To win the gift certificate from Softpencil, you only have to play the challenge. Please link your challenge card to the EtsyInspired Challenge blog.
~Somewhere along the blog hop, there's a prize from AiFactory to be won. Leave comments everywhere!

A Letter From Me:
I'm just super excited to be here. I know that some challenges and blogs come and go so I'm so happy that we pushed through and made it for to this point. What started off as a little idea has really blossomed into a nice challenge that's one of a kind, art inspiring art. I love it! I have to thank everyone that helped me along the way!

I have the world's BEST design team! They support me 100%. They have been a guiding force for me. I could not have done it without them. Especially Tiffany who has been there since the VERY beginning. She's been with me since day one. She's the first person I asked to be on the team and she's never going to be allowed to leave. Big thank you to my DT Coordinator Kerry who took over for me when I was on maternity leave, writing all the million blog posts and keeping the PCP board going. My Special Event Coordinator De who has done everything in the whole world to help our challenge from making blinkies to getting sponsors. She's like an extension of myself. Everyone should be so lucky to have a De! The rest of my team are absolutely amazing, all the previous designers and the guest designers. They are like family to me. I adore each and every one of them and I'm so lucky to have such amazing talent on my team.

Thank you soooo much to all the players! We could not be here without you! Having a challenge blog would be silly with no players and we have the BEST players! People who have been so dedicated and supported us. I adore each and every one of you! It truly means A LOT that you take the time out of your day to play our challenge.

Also, thank you to all our sponsors who have helped us along the way. Thanks for believing in our challenge enough to give us prizes and advertise our challenge! You are the best!

Here's to another great year and many more!

EIC51 Winners

Again, super short post. I'm getting ready for the BIG party tomorrow. Are you all ready?? I hope so!

Here is what Random.Brady picked:

The winner for the Red Crow Arts pendant is Cheri!

The winner for the Unity set is Jo!

You can click on their names to see their creations. Congrats ladies! Please email me your addresses and I'll get your prizes to you. Thanks amazing sponsors! Come back tomorrow for the EIC Birthday Bash! Woohoo!

I'm SO Excited!!!

***Please scroll down for Friends with Flair Friday post***

Teehee, I've been holding in my awesome news for all of 18 hours and I'm ready to burst at the seams! Yesterday, I was looking in the Softpencil shop forever and I absolutely loved each and every image. I emailed Elizabeth, telling her how much I love her work and that if she was ever looking to add to her DT, she could always count on me. WELL, she decided that I could be on the DT!

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited! It's been a long time since I've fallen in love with a stamp company like this. I love every single image that she makes and will likely spend a good amount of my money in the shop. :) You can also buy Softpencil stamps on AiFactory!

Come back tomorrow for our EtsyInspired blog hop! Coincidentally, Softpencil is one of our sponsors!

Friends With Flair

Hip hop hangover is over sadly but now we have friends with flair Fridays. So, one thing comes to an end but something new started. Such is life.

This is a card I made for the SCS sketch challenge this week. As well as for the Paper Maniac challenge to use embossing on a card. The DP is Basic Grey. The CB folder is Floral Fantasy. The stamps are Unity's August 09 KOTM. I finished with dew drops, Stickles, ribbon and some Spica Pen.

Happy Friday everyone!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge 16

Dawn issued another awesome color challenge this week. It's more fall like colors, but boy am I ready for fall to be here! I do not like the sweltering heat! I want to be able to go outside with the kids! Plus, I'm still nursing so I still get super hot all the time.

I channeled Ryann a little bit on this card. I'm sure it's obvious. :) The base is Kraft. The designer paper is Basic Grey. The stamp set is Unity's Feel the Joy, one of my absolute favorites! I don't have any scallop punches but I like to pretend. What I've done here is punched out circles using my 1 inch circle punch, then I glued them to the side of the paper. Voila, giant scalloped border. I finished with some bling in a nice orangey gold.

Happy Thursday everyone and don't forget to come back on Saturday for the HUGE EIC Birthday Bash with fun and prizes!!

Wanna Win a Scor-Pal, Scor-Bug, Scor-Mat, and a Scor-Tool??

Come back HERE (my blog) on Saturday and get this party started! The amazing Scor-Pal company is sponsoring the EtsyInspired Birthday Bash! The blog hop starts right here on my blog and you'll be hopping through some amazing inspiration and SPECIAL FAMOUS guest stars! Then come on over to our PCP group where there will be chatting, games, prizes, and challenges! Woohoo! I can't wait!

Two Challenges, One Card

Look at me, blogging two cards in one day. It's like I have free time or something. Actually, the kids are with my hubby right now. Teehee! :)

This card is for two things. First off, I used to sketch #3 over at Get Sketchy for the layout. I was so perplexed about this sketch until today. Second, it's for the Craft Critique's The Butterfly Project. They are sending a box of handmade butterflies to the Holocaust Museum. Each butterfly is to represent a child who died in the Holocaust. You can help by sending butterflies too. They've extended the deadline to Sept 30.

My card is made with Basic Grey designer paper. The white is a Top Note die cut that I got from Wish Rak. The butterfly was cut out with my Cuttlebug. The pearls are Kaiser Craft. Not much too it.

Here's a poem to inspired you:

The Butterfly

The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone....
Such, such a yellow Is carried lightly ’way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942
Born in Prague on January 7, 1921.
Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942.
Died in Aushchwitz on September 29, 1944.

A Card for Kate

Jennifer McGuire and a couple of her friends are doing a card drive for Kate. Kate is a sweet little 5 year old that was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. The whole thing just breaks my heart. Jennifer is collecting cards for Kate and her family. I figured, it's the least I can do. A card and pray. You can find details on the card drive HERE. Also, they are giving away prizes for this card drive if you needed more incentive.

I made a little princess card for Kate since all little girls are princesses. The image is Sugar Nellie. I embellished her dress and stockings with orange Spica pen so she's very sparkly. The DP is DCWV and the ribbon is from the dollar bin at Michael's.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Let's make a card and brighten up a family's life! Hugs!

Anyone Want FREE Ugg Boots?

I was just informed that a site called Whoogaboots is doing an Ugg Boots giveaway. Pretty cool, huh? Fall and winter are just around the corner so people will definitely be needing something to keep their feet warm and cozy. Also, I get an incentive for sending people over so help a girl out and go HERE to enter for your free Ugg boots. What could it hurt?

AiFactory Challenge

Today is the FIRST day that we will be hosting a challenge on the BRAND NEW AiFactory challenge blog. Woohoo! We decided to take it really easy on you all this week! The challenge is anything goes! Crazy huh? You don't have to use AiFactory images, but we would love it if you did! Here is where you can find all the awesome AiFactory FREEBIES.

The prize this week is the awesome Cowboy digi stamp set seen HERE. I totally cheated on my project and used the Cowboy Clip Art set instead. The clip art is just soooo easy to use on digi layouts and cards. But I promise, you'll see me use the stamp set really soon so I can show you how fun that is too.

I couldn't resist making this layout of the boys. Teehee! I find myself very very funny sometimes. I mean, really, someone OUGHT to find me funny. This was EASY PEASY! I just used the frames from the clipart set, the little cowboy, and the sheriff's badge. I added my mug shots and some text. Fun fun!

So, please come and join us. You can make ANYTHING you want! Just leave a little link to our challenge blog if you would. Win this adorable set! You'll love it! :)

PS Next week, I'm hosting the AiFactory challenge so please come back next Tuesday and check it out!