Simply LOVE, Always!

SIMPLY LOVE, ALWAYS!

This card is created for two challenges today! First a LOVE card for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply, Love is in the Air, #72 Challenge! I love her challenges...they are no stress and simple! Check her blog, NoTimeToStamp? for all the info! This also fits the challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge for limited supplies today is simple! Stickers with minimal stamping is pretty simple! The red glitter stickers are FaLaLa from Making Memories. The beaded heart was purchased at Michaels. Fiskars threading water border punch was used for the bottom of card front. It is so hard to photo a clear card! Ugh! Hopefully you can get a good idea of the layout! Glue dots are placed behind the stickers on the inside front to attach SU black cardstock so adhesive will not show! I used my Papertreyink Heart Prints for inside sentiment. I like the way the word, Love, on the front flows to the inside to complete the sentiment; Love Always! I used StazOn white to stamp Always, and then went over the word with my white InkEssentials pen. The StazOn was not white enough for me! I hope you have had a good week! I have been under the weather, hence my lack of posting! I think it's a virus going around! Still not up to par, but getting better!

Take good care and Have a Great Weekend!

It's a Strawberry Honorable Mention!

In this picture, you can see a couple strawberry treats up close! I placed one in a shortened pretzel rod cello bag for a single treat! The tag and heart were stamped with my new Papertreyink Heart Prints. The strawberry stems are plastic and non edible of course! They were purchased at a local cake decorating store. I used a family recipe for these strawberries, found below but want to share with you, I did google this type of treat and found many variations! The RECIPE: 1 package Strawberry Jello powder, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, 2 1/2 cups flaked coconut, 1 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar, 2/3 cup ground almonds, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, Wilton pink sparkling sugar Mix all ingredients Take a small amount of mix and mold with fingers into strawberry shape, roll in pink sugar then place on wax paper. After strawberries are completed, insert stem for presentation! The strawberry treats are so simple to make and they look just beautiful! All varied sizes and sparkling from the pink sugar! I decided I wanted a special way to present the bag of strawberries. I placed the bag in a glass mug, then tied the bag with Papertreyink's new Raspberry Fizz ribbon! Using one of my all time favorite Papertreyink stamp sets, Green Thumb, I stamped a strawberry to attach to the ribbon and to make a gift card, completing the set. Since I am gifting the strawberries in a mug, I wanted a gift card to include a tea bag! The little gift card's inside holds the tea bag by scoring and folding up a flap secured with brads. I stamped the flap with a sentiment from Heart Prints, as well as a small heart to attach for the tea bag tag! Perfect! I am so excited that Nichole over at Papertreyink chose this project as one of her HONORABLE Mentions this month! I LOVE working with all the Papertreyink products and get so much inspiration from her and her talented design team! Go check out Nichole's blog, Capture the Moment, to get the scoop on her upcoming anniversary celebration too!

It means so much to me when you stop in and visit Explore.Dream.Discover. Thank you so much and hope you stop by again soon! Take good care and have a great weekend!

JustRite Day FIVE Peek! It's A Hoot

This is my last day as guest blogger over on the JustRite blog! I have so enjoyed preparing these creations everyday this week! Today's project is a special Valentine's Day project! One that "Owl" bet will be a hoot for your special Valentine! I hope you like it, check out all the details on the JustRite BLOG! Again, a huge THANK YOU to JustRite for having me blog this week, and I look forward to making many more JustRite items as a member of their team! So be sure to stop in regularly here at Explore.Dream.Discover. and check it out!

Take good care! Tomorrow I have a wonderful project that I shared over on the Papertreyink site and received an Honorable Mention for it too! Can't wait for you to see it!

It's a Sweet Day FOUR JustRite Peek

A JustRite sweet idea for Day FOUR! All the details are on the JustRite BLOG, from start to finish! Go take a look, same idea, three different looks! And be sure to scroll down to look through this weeks posts that include CHA peeks! If you are attending CHA, I hope you get the opportunity to check out the JustRite make and takes with Debbie Olsen and Sharon Harnist ! What an opportunity!

Thank YOU for all your kind words and well wishes as I join the JustRite team! What an honor to design among the talent on this team and I look forward to working with all the amazing JustRite products. I hope you'll come along so we can explore, dream, and discover together! Take good care and I will be back tomorrow with Day FIVE!

It will be a HOOT! (hint)

JustRite PEEK! Day THREE!

Day THREE JustRite peek is here! Go to the JustRite BLOG to see the project from start to finish! This is one of my favorites of the week! After you check it out, you will understand why! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope your week is going well! Please stop by tomorrow for a peek at Day FOUR! It will be a sweet (hint!)one!

Take Good Care!

Day TWO JustRite Peek!

Here is a peek at the Day Two project I created for JustRite! Head on over to their BLOG and check out all the photos and details!

There is new product to check out too as JustRite prepares to go to CHA! Debbie Olsen and Sharon Harnist will be at the CHA JustRite booth! I hope you will be able to create one of the many make and takes with them!

Thank you so very much for visiting! Take good care and see you tomorrow for DAY THREE!

JustRite Day One Peek!

Just a peek at the Day One creation for JustRite! You can view all the other photos and info on JustRite's BLOG! Hope you like! While your're there, check out the peeks for CHA! I believe I'm going to have a whole lotta fun with the new stamps!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO VISIT! TAKE GOOD CARE AND I HOPE YOU COME BACK TOMORROW FOR the JustRite Day two creation!

Valentine Tube Treats

I am so excited to let you know, I will be a guest blogger over at JustRite for the next five days! As JustRite prepares for CHA, with sneak peeks over on their blog, they will also post a JustRite creation I made, just for your viewing! It's going to be a great week! I thank you, JustRite for the opportunity to work with your fantastic products! I am blessed.

Aren't these tubes the best for a special treat! I saw this version of a skewer treat on Tammy's blog who saw the same one I did on Andrea's blog! Andrea has created a super video tutorial on the one's she created and shows you the instructions much better than I could ever write for you! Click on both their blogs to check out what they did! I did alter mine to accommodate these nifty, very cool, square, trendy tubes found at Papertreyink. And, obviously I went with a Valentines theme instead of the Christmas theme, Tammy and Andrea used! The tube has a very secure fitting topper, and is nice and clear to show off whatever you place inside! I found these ingredients at my local dollar store and was so pleased with the quality, taste, and freshness! The marshmallows are a most tasty cherry flavor! I used Wilton brand lollipop sticks, 11 3/4" long for my candy skewer. The lollipop stick does not have a sharp point on it to spear the treat well enough without smashing it, so I used a metal skewer, that we use to roast marshmallows on, to create a hole in the center of each candy. Then the candy was ready to be placed on the stick. I knew I wanted the stick to extend through the lid to give me a spot to attach the ribbon, tag, and hearts. I went to my husband's work bench and found a drill bit the diameter size of the stick and simply hand twisted it through the middle of the lid! Worked like a charm! I did cut off about an inch of the lollipop stick with my kitchen scissors as it was a tiny bit too high!

A simple tag with a heart brad is hung around the stick first. The ribbon is from Papertreyink, Fresh Snow white and Ripe Avocado green. The hearts are stamped twice, using Papertreyink Heart Prints set. I cut them out, embellished the fronts, and shaded the edges. After I ran red line sticky tape on the front and back of the stick above the bows, I pressed on the hearts. A little trim on the bottom of each tube brought the colors together and gave the tube a more finished look! The bottom of each tube can be seen in the first picture above. Thanks so much for stopping by! It really means so much to me when you take the time to visit here! I know there are tons of blogs out there! I'll be back later with some very special news! Stay tuned!

Chelle, Come On Down!

YOU have won the blog candy for Pat's, CARDS4KIDS card drive!

Chelle says: Those cards are soooo super sweet! My cards are heading for the mail this afternoon! I'm sending 3 valentines (and 10 birthdayish cards!) You can see them all here on Chelle's blog. Congratulations, Chelle! Email me your address, and I will get that Craft Lounge stamp set out to you! Thank you to all who participated. If you want to send cards, contact Pat by emailing her at mrsmiley6@aol.com

MORE breaking news! JUST RITE is gearing up for CHA and they have been posting sneak peeks over on their blog! I cannot wait to get my hands on the new set, What's Cookin' and whip up a few sweet creations! Go take a look!

AND there is more FANTASTIC news, Debbie Olsen and Sharon Harnist will be at the JUST RITE CHA booth to teach! WOW, now that would be awesome to meet them, wouldn't it? I am such a fan of their work! Be sure to follow the Just Rite blog for their CHA news!

Starting tomorrow, they will announce their guest blogger for the week!

Thank you for stopping by today! I so appreciate it! Have a wonderful weekend!

A STAR in LOVE!

A STAR in LOVE

That is literally what this card is based on! I recently purchased buttons (quite a few) at my local fabric store! And this silver star was one of them. Itching to use my new Kim Hughes stamps, The Birds and the Bees, I purchased from Ellen Hutson's Store, I thought the star could serve as the letter O in the word LOVE. After stamping and coloring my images, I chose Papertreyink's Men of Life patterned papers to work with. I had a punched swiss dot circle laying in my scrap box to adhere cut out image on. Silver brads on middle strip of patterned paper to match the silver star button! Blue hemp is run through button and tied on front side. It is attached with a glue dot. Not wanting to waste any paper, I decided to use some of the leftover pieces on the card inside. I have noticed quite a few designers finishing off cards in this way. I like it! I hope to utilize my paper scraps more often! And in 2009, I hope to use those scraps, repurpose packaging materials, and be more aware of what I am throwing away. I admit, I have never been the greatest at recycling, but this year I have committed to do better! How about you? What are doing to be a little bit greener this year?

Take good care. I am off to work on all those projects that I can't wait to show you next week! Thanks so much for stopping by! I really appreciate it!

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

I tried my hand this week with Taylor Vanbruggen's Cupcake Challenge. I didn't use cupcakes though and I flipped the sketch up side down! I love her blog, Taylored Expressions and her store has lots of yummy goodies too! I have been playing with my Raspberry Fizz Mix papers! I cut out the various sized flowers and layered a smaller one onto the larger flower center. A little button with ribbon for the flower centers work nicely! My sentiment is from Papertreyink's new set, Heart Prints. A heart raindrop placed at the start of the lettering anchors the word on the card. Papertreyink twill ribbons, Ripe Avacado and Spring Moss for stems and leaves. All cardstock and ink are from PTI as well. This will be a card for my husband, who is always there, for better, for worse, through thick and thin, 29 years and counting!

Praying you've had a great weekend! Take good care and don't forget about BLOG candy for you and VALENTINES for Children's Hospital HERE.

Stamp Simply with Sharon Johnson

WARM WINTER WISHES

I'm thrilled to be able to make a card for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply IT'S STILL WINTER Challenge! Yes, it's still the heart of winter, so BEFORE WINTER LEAVES US we are to make any type of card that makes one think WINTER -- and doing that without using a snowman or snowflake, all the better! Anything WINTER is what she's after! Check out Sharon Johnson's blog, No Time To Stamp? for more information and play along! I chose to use my new Karen Lockhart Stamp on my new inchies, perfect for a winter card! Image is colored with Koh-i-noor Woodless Pencils, blended with stumps and odorless turpentine. The mitten cuffs are fuzzy with flower soft applied with a glue pen. Cuttlebugged snowflake panel lends a texture base for the mittens and sentiment. I decided I wanted create my own sentiment, WARM WINTER WISHES. So, out came my handy JUST RITE Curlz Font and rectangular stamper.

JUST RITE fonts enable you to create whatever wording you desire! Using my 1 3/8 x 3 1/2 wooden rectangular stamper, I selected my letters and pressed them into the grooved surface. Here is the CURLZ fonts out of the box to show you the trays they are stored on. They stack on one another making storage easy with a top clear cover fitting on the top tray. There are five trays. I also want you to check out the three sizes of fonts that are in the set. 25pt, 50pt, and 95pt. I used size 50pt for the first letters of my words and 25pt on the remaining letters. All these options allows making custom sayings a snap!

Inked with Chalk Box warm red, I stamped my sentiment and used the largest die from spellbinders, tag trio. On the tag, an adhesive red gem for accent, with foam dimensionals popping the sentiment up completes the card. I LOVE the endless possibilities creating my own sayings using JUST RITE stampers. It's so easy and well, makes it just right!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Remember to check the Valentine LOVE blog candy HERE. Take good care and have a wonderful weekend. May it be filled with warmth, fun, and laughter for you and those you love.

Valentine LOVE for the Children and blog candy for you!!!

VALENTINES FOR CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

Yesterday I posted about my friend Julie Koerber. And shared about her Mom, Pat Adam who does volunteer work for Children's Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. She founded and heads up a charity called Cards 4 Kids. The administrator of Children’s Hospital recently contacted Pat and asked if she could come up with 1,000 Valentines! I have joined other stampers to help reach Pat this goal! My goodness, can you imagine the smiles from these children when they all get Valentines and then some to exchange and send! Will you help? For the children? If you can help reach this worthwhile goal for such a precious cause, please email Pat at mrsmiley6@aol.com for information and all the details. Julie and Pat along with other designers are offering blog candy for those who participate. Be sure to check these blogs for that information! And, read on Pat’s Blog about How Cards 4 Kids got started. Julie Koerber - outoimpress Pat Adam - The Rubbermaid Regina Easter - Hand to Paper Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here

After posting yesterday, I am thrilled to share that one of the owners of OUR CRAFT LOUNGE, Cambria Turnbow contacted me and asked if she could donate a stamp set as candy to help the cause! Check out her blog, Stamp a Little Love, Baby and peek at the adorable Valentine she made! Leave a comment on this blog entry, contact Pat and send your Valentine donation and I'll throw your name in the hat to win the stamp set below, Pat the Dog. Thanks so much, Cambria! YOU rock!

Here are a few more pics of the Valentines I will be sending to Pat. All images are stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink and color added with Copic markers. A little bit of ribbon, adhesive pearls, gems, buttons, and heart rain dots add a bit of pizazz to the simple, easy, and oh so cute Anna Mae! The images are from stamp set, Anna Mae found at OUR CRAFT LOUNGE!

The Valentine sentiment is from Dr. Pea-Nut also found at OUR CRAFT LOUNGE. I was able to curve the sentiment and stamp right where I needed it to be! Gotta love that! Here they all are friends! All ready to be packaged and sent to Pat. I cannot tell you how fun and rewarding it is to be part of a community that desires to give back! The children are worth it! They are waiting for us to shower them with Valentine LOVE! Will you help? And win some blog candy too? Remember to leave a comment on this blog entry and I will pick a winner on Friday, January 17th. Good Luck everyone!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Please direct anyone to this blog post to get info on how they can help! I appreciate your willingness to share and especially your love for the children! Take good care!

For the Children, Will You Help?

VALENTINES FOR THE CHILDREN

You have read about my friend Julie Koerber here on my blog from time to time! Well, her Mom does volunteer work for Children's Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. I also live in Michigan and actually used to live in the Detroit area for many years. Her name is Pat Adam and she heads up a charity called Cards 4 Kids. The administrator of Children’s Hospital recently contacted Pat and asked if she could come up with 1,000 Valentines! This is quite the undertaking for Pat to come up with that many Valentines! So, I am joining other stampers to help. My goodness, can you imagine the smiles from these children when they all get Valentines to exchange and send!

Will you help? For the children? If you can help reach this worthwhile goal for such a precious cause, please email Pat at mrsmiley6@aol.com for information and all the details.

Julie and Pat along with other designers are offering blog candy for those who participate. Be sure to check these blogs for that information! And, read on Pat’s Blog about How Cards 4 Kids got started.

Julie Koerber - outoimpress

Pat Adam - The Rubbermaid

Regina Easter - Hand to Paper

Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here

I chose to use my new stamp set, Anna Mae from Our Craft Lounge to create some girly Valentines! I made a bakers dozen and have some to show you today! I will post the rest tomorrow!

Every card is stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink and some color added with Copic Markers. On each card, I placed a gem, button, rain heart dot, pearl, or ribbon! Just a little something to add that extra pizazz!

Tiny blue gems and a larger yellowish gold adorns Anna Mae's dress on this Valentine! Being that the stamps are clear, I was able to curve the sentiment over Anna Mae's hands and see clearly where I wanted to stamp it.

A smaller photo of a grouping, so you can check out the purple dressed Anna Mae! Love the little ribbon and pearl on this Valentine! The happy Valentine's sentiment is from another Our Craft Lounge set, Dr. Pea-Nut.

Thank you for checking in today! I appreciate your visit! Please consider helping Pat reach the goal of 1,000 Valentines, I know we can do it! Take good care!

Jewelry Dish Number 3

Jewelry dish, (number 3) in honor of Melanie Muenchinger's celebration happening on her blog, HANDS, HEAD, and HEART! Images are from Melanie's stamp set, A Year of Flowers from GinaK Designs. These dishes are perfect to sit in a spot where you might want to remove your ring or necklace for a short while! In the kitchen, bath, laundry, it is the right size to set out just about anywhere! I apologize for the poor photos! I admit my photo skills are lacking, and trying to get a crisp photo of glass is not easy! The images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and Copic colored. I'm thinking this particular dish will look awfully nice on my kitchen counter! The previous two will be gifted! View jewelry dish number 1 HERE and jewelry dish number 2 HERE. My friend, Melanie Muenchinger's has been celebrating one year of designing stamps and blogging all week! The celebration will end today, but her inspiration and work will continue! Be sure and check out her blog, "Hands, Head, and Heart" and while you are there, leave some love and congratulations!

Designers who have joined in the celebration and posting a creation for you to check out today are:

Charmaine - Oodabug Alley

Donna - Serenity in Stamping

Jessica - iembellish

Theresa - Crafting The Web

Warmest congratulations, Melanie on all your accomplishments this past year and best wishes for a spectacular 2009!

Stop by tomorrow and check out Valentine cards I have been making for a very special cause! All the info right here at Explore. Dream. Discover. tomorrow! Thanks so much for visiting today! I appreciate it so very much! Take good care!

Mocha Chica Hello Friend

HELLO FRIEND

Monday's challenge over at Splitcoaststampers is to use sticky tape and glitterfy it! I chose to add the color of the branch in glitter to help pop the main focal point. I purchased my Cornish Heritage Farms KIM HUGHES Mocha Chica Collection paper and stamps from Ellen Hutson. She sent the cutest thank you with beautiful ribbon! Thank YOU, Ellen! The branch is cut out from a piece of dp (called extra whip) in the pack and attached to pieces of dp (called french press and cocomocho). The sentiment is cut from dp of the same pack (called flavor blasts) and I paper pieced the stamped bird onto two dp pieces (mango frappy and quarter shot). OMGoodness, the titles given to the paper is so much fun! Check it out! Adorable stamps with matching designer paper! Doesn't get much better than that!

Hope you are having a great day! Thank you for checking in today! I am appreciative of each and every visit you make! Take good care!

Ladybug, Ladybug Jewelry Dish

LADYBUG, LADYBUG JEWELRY DISH

Here is my second jewelry dish in honor of the celebration going on over at HANDS, HEAD, and HEART! I am making a dent in my stock of 18 dishes! Images are from Melanie's stamp set, A Year of Flowers. I'm hoping this has a younger feel to it as it will be gifted to a younger gal. I think it would work great by the kitchen sink to take off rings while washing dishes, etc. The images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic Markers, YG03, G24, RV11, RV14, and RV19. I again used my Zyron machine to run the cardstock through after inserting the cartridge that applies adhesive on one side and laminate on the other side. The adhesive is on the topside so it adheres to the glass, the laminate on the bottom in order to give the paper a waterproof element. My friend, Melanie Muenchinger continues her one year celebration of designing stamps and blogging ! Be sure and check out her blog, "Hands, Head, and Heart" and get all the details. There are still GREAT prizes to be won! Many designers have joined in the celebration creating with sets Melanie has designed and released this year at GinaK Designs. Check out what these talented ladies have been up to!Carolina - Carolina's Creative Pad Donna - Serenity in Stamping Emily - Stamping and Stuff Erika - Stampin Mama Designs Jessica - iembellish Jessie - canyousayaddictedtostamps Kim - My Favorite Things Lori - Inking Aloud Pam - Paper Askew Studio Theresa - Crafting The Web

My final creation in celebration of Melanie's milestone will be tomorrow! I so appreciate you stopping by and letting me know you were here! Your comments mean so very much and inspire me more than you know! Take good care!

Julie HRR, Stamping Royalty!

Over on Splitcoaststampers today, the Featured Stamper is Julie Ebersole! I have long admired Julie's work, she is for sure stamping royalty! Check THIS out for all the challenge info and gallery. I chose THIS card to case. I had already stamped a row of tissue boxes, and copic colored them. So, I placed them on Papertreyink Raspberry Fizz cardstock before attaching to my cuttlebugged swiss dot card. Many designers have used a tissue box image of sorts and inserted a piece of real tissue! I knew when I got my Dr. Pea-Nut stamps from Our Craft Lounge, that is exactly what I would do! The boxes are Copic colored, scallop is pierced and popped up. I used a Gelly Roll sparkle pen for the edging on the white circle.

HOPE you have had a peaceful Sunday! Take good care and I will be back tomorrow with another Melanie Muenchinger celebration creation! See you then!

Tulips for Melanie!

TULIP JEWELRY DISH

My friend, Melanie Muenchinger is celebrating a year of designing stamps and blogging! Check out her blog, "Hands, Head, and Heart" and get all the details. There are GREAT prizes too, from Melanie, GinaK, My Favorite Things, Paper Temptress, and Scor-Pal. Many designers have joined in the celebration creating with the sets Melanie has designed and released this year at GinaK Designs. Check out what these talented ladies have been up to! Carolina - Carolina's Creative Pad Donna - Serenity in Stamping Jessica - iembellish Julie - Outoimpress Lee - My Reality It's all Good Rose Ann - Paper Delightz

Jessie - canyousayaddictedtostamps For my creation I chose Mel's set, "A Year of Flowers" and colored with copic markers. When I first came across Mel's work at Splitcoaststampers years ago, one of the first creations I noticed was a jewelry dish she made. I immediately was in love with this idea and at Hobby Lobby purchased all eighteen candle holder dishes that day! And so, they sat in a drawer along side many unused alterables for a few years! I know many of you can relate! When I saw Mel's set, A Year of Flowers, I knew I would being pulling out these dishes and finally putting them to good use! The circle is run through a Xyron, with laminate on the bottom and adhesive on the image side. I tried my best to get a good picture, but the glass glare, and adhesive made it challenging. Copic colors for leaves are: YG03 and G24 On the Tulips I used, RV11, RV14, and RV19. I am loving my Copic markers more and more! If you want to learn from the best Copic Artist, Marianne Walker, check out her blog, I like Markers!

Check back Monday and Tuesday for more jewelry dish designs! Thank you Melanie for including me your special celebration!

Polka Dots, Pearls, and Papertreyink!

Over on Splitcoaststampers today, the inspiration challenge is to be inspired by the cakes on this site, Cake Nouveau. I chose the polka dot cake on page one. Using my new Papertreyink stamps, Heart Prints, I stamped my focal point, cut out, and added adhesive pearls. I love how the pearls add texture to the heart! The polka dot patterned paper is from new PTI's Raspberry Fizz patterned paper pack. Fresh Snow 1/2 inch satin ribbon is used for added detail! All in all, a pretty simple card, that packs a lot of color!

Hope you are enjoying the New Year so far! Take good care!