Livin' Large!

Hello friends! This card was made using a sketch challenge from Splitcoast. I love the colors of this K&Co. paper and I think that the Living Large set is finally growing on me. Of course, I think it's retiring. I stuck a big prima behind the image for some added dimension. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for looking!

Butterfly Wishes

I finally played with this set from Papertrey. I am really getting hooked on their stuff. In fact, this is the only one I DON'T own yet. I played with it at Kirsten's, last week. I used an old sketch challenge from Splitcoast for the set up. Thanks for looking!

And The Winner Is.....

After reading all of the wonderful ideas that were posted, the ones I liked the most were the ones that said "donate them." I also like the thought of altering them. So, I think I will go through them and pick out a few for altering and then go to a church or pre-school to see if they want them for the children. I am just hoping they don't refuse them due to the sticky foam on them. If, for any reason, they do refuse them, I will offer them for anyone who would like them and just charge postage. How's that!?



So, without further delay, I see that the first person to suggest that I donate the blocks to a school or daycare was...

Kirsi said...
Just like on previous posts I suggest you selling them on ebay or giving away to someone who needs them. You could ask school or daycare centre if they would like to have them.

Kirsi, send me your snail mail and I will send you your Latte-Loot! Thank you to all of you who played along and thank you for your wonderful suggestions. But, mostly, thank you for visiting my blog. I truly enjoy the comments you send. Happy stampin'! Mimi

Kudos for Kirsten

Hey, did you see that my friend Kirsten was the Featured Stamper over at Splitcoast? Well, if not, you better get over there and check it out! Pick a card from her gallery to CASE, make a couple changes and show it off to us! This is what I made, using her card as my inspiration. I changed the paper, image and orientation a bit. I was a simple sketch but I am happy with how it turned out. Way to go Kirsten! Keep up the great work!

Sweet Lavender Dress

This little beauty is from Stampendous. I got it just recently and finally put it to ink, today. I love the patterned paper from Scrapbook Wizzard. The dress has all these little circles on the outlines and since the Class A' Peel Stickers ,(bling) are also from Stampendous, it leads me to assume they are for this use. I love them. They are sparkly little stickers that come in a variety of colors and shapes and, don't even get me started on the outline stickers they make! OMG! Too cool! Anyhoo, this is for my 16yo, Katie to give to her little sister, Maggie, on her 6th B-Day. Thanks for checkin' it out!

Beate's Challenge and Maggie's Birthday

I made this one for Beate's Challenge. I don't do square cards too often but this one will be hand delivered to my Maggie when she turns six. That won't be till July, but I 'm ready! LOL!

The pretty "Daughter" paper came from my friend Milissa's store and the ballet dress and the idea of the tulle came from my friend Carol. I used the scalloped circle punch and colored the dress with prismacolor pencils. The bling is from Michael's $1 bin and the sentiment is from Papertrey's Faux Ribbon set. Thanks a bunch for looking. I am sure Maggie will love the card, when she gets it.

Win some Latte-Loot!

After typing the previous post, I have decided to send my "Wood Block Conundrum" out into the stamp community for some suggestions.

I am asking for suggestions on what to do with all of these wood blocks.

I am the type of person who hates to throw away something if it is perfectly good and has a use.

So, send me your suggestions and after I read them all, I will pick a winner for the goodie package I have pictured.

I will pick the winner on the evening of Wednesday, the 30th.

This should give plenty of time to come up with some GREAT sulutions! Thanks for your help!

Got Wood?

I just thought I would share with you all a project that I have decided to take on. After much thought, I have decided to try taking some of my stamps off of the wood block and storing them in CD cases.

After removing them from the wood block, I coated the back of the rubber with a repositionable glue. This way I can stick them to an acrylic block to stamp with and and they will stick to the inside of the CD case for easy storage.

I have only had a couple minor setbacks with this. A couple of the more intricate stamps really seem to need the foam. So, when I come across this dilemma, I just mount the rubber to some EZ Mount Stamp Store foam.

So far, I have found this to be a good solution to my growing storage dilemma. As you can see in the picture, the CD cases take up so little room compared to the large cases the Stampin' Up! stamps came in.

So, you may ask, what do you do with all of the stamp cases? I will tell you! I have found many great uses for them. I use them to hold finished cards, markers, my Cuttlebug embossing folders and dies, the list goes on. There are so many wonderful uses for them.

What I cannot find a use for are the wood blocks. There are so many! A friend told me to use some for sanding blocks. This does work rather well but, what do I do with the other bazillion blocks?

Summer Bella

I started this card the other day and finally got around to finishing it.

I have been trying to use more of my patterned paper lately. I have so much of it and I love it all.

This card is Ki Memories. They are one of my favorite paper companies. I paired it with Bazzill paper, Prima flowers, bling and some ribbon.

The card sketch is from Sunflower Studios. I love her work.

Thank you for looking. Hope you like it!

Aloha Mouse!

Is this the cutest mouse ever!? I had to pop his nose up, due to a boo boo with my coloring. I think it turned out better this way though. I paired him up with a piece of Flair Designs paper that Kirsten had given me a while ago. I couldn't stop there, I had to add the raffia all around the edges for a tropical flair! Hope you like it!

A Little Fluffles Love!

I pulled this adorable image from my stamped image pile and thought it would be perfect for this card. I also used a new set I got from Serendipity Kits. It is called Sentiments Circles from Autumn Leaves. Thanks for looking!

No Peeking!

Saturday night I was up late playing with some new card sketches and some previously stamped images. I found this little cutie and thought he would look festive with some Doodlebug paper. I am not much of a primary colors kind of gal so this was a challenge for me. Thanks for looking!

I love these colors!

Another new card sketch and a previously stamped image. I purchased this paper a while ago and never cut into it until now. I don't know what I have been waiting for. I love teal and turquoise. Yummy! Thanks for looking!

Beate's Sketch

I was playing around last night and came accross this image that I had already colored and never did anything with. I had it tucked away in my folder where I keep stamped images. When I saw this image, I new I had to use it for Beate's challenge. I paired it up with some velvet ribbon, paper piercing and Prima flowers and bling. For the bottom, I used my corner rounder to get the scalloped edges. The celery layer is stamped with Filigre bkgr. and the caramel card is stamped with Canvas bkgr. Thanks for looking. Have a great Mother's Day!

This Year's "In Colors"

Here is a preview of the new colors that Stampin' Up! has chosen for us. I sure am going to miss Cool Caribbean!

Surf's Up, Dude!

I made this cute little dude Wednesday, while hangin' with my girl Kirsten. I had the hardest time completing the card though. The paper that I had chosen to accompany it just didn't do it for me. Today, I was determined to get him done. So, I switched the paper to some SEI that I had hanging around and with the help of Sketch Challenge 79, I think I pulled it off quite nicely. Hope you like it too!

Citrus Colors Make Me Happy!

Don't these colors make you want a tall glass of lemonade? Yum, yum! I got the stamped image and the fuzzy orange rick rack from Kirsten. It is a Whippersnapper stamp and I love it. The paper, I got from Serendipity Kits. It is made by Paper Salon. It is so tropical and fun to play with. I used the Splitcoasy Sketch Challenge #75 for the layout and ended up with no room on the front for a sentiment. Oh well, I guess the bright colors and happy little mouse are enough eye candy for the front! Hope you like it!

A Fluffles Kind of Day

This stamped image was sent to me, along with many many more, from a SCS angel called Anne or aka Dawson on Splitcoast. One day she pm'd me and asked if I would like some Fluffles images. You bet I would! I mean, who wouldn't?! All that she asked in return were some stamped images of Pretty Princess so she could make cards for sick children. At that point, I would have given her the world. What a great cause! Anyway, she sent me so many stamped images of Fluffles. Almost every one they make! This is one of them. Hope you like it! Thanks Anne!

For the layout of this card, I used an inspiration challenge by Colleen. It is called her "Throwdown Thursday!". I love all of the circles. The paper I used is from Imaginisce. I love the bright and vibrant colors.

Hope you like it!

So Sad to See Them Go!

I am so sad to see these stamp go into retirement. The background is "Cheesecloth" and the shells are from "Beautiful Beach". Please join me in a moment of silence. I cased this card from Michelle Fischer. She has some of the most beautiful cards. Her style is so clean and I love the colors she chooses. Aparently, Stampin' Up! likes her too because I see her work in Stampin' Success quite a bit. Go check her out.

More great Spring Swaps

These are the last 2 swap cards I have. The first is by Donna Baker. You can see her Splitcoast gallery here and her blog here. I love the coloring on this card. Her shading is great and I love the tab with all the goodies. Please go check out her blog. She has some great stuff there! Thanks Donna!

This last card is by Anna Zuniga. You can see her blog here. This is a set that I will have to buy someday! I love the boots and how she has them popped up. Thanks for the card Anna!

Joy folds are Awesome!

I have seen these card folds on Splitcoast before but it wasn't till I saw them on Beate's blog that I finally got around to making them. I love it! It is so easy and they look so great. Thanks to Beate and whoever came up with it. Here are my samples. Thanks for looking!

Ode to Bonnielee!

My dear friend, Bonnielee, loaned me this set over a month ago. I loved this set when it was in a mini catalog a couple years ago and have wanted to play with it since. Yet, when I get it in my paws, I have yet to play. Until this weekend, that is! So, I made this card for Bonnielee to thank her for her patience with me. It is also to tell her to keep her chin up. She is currently volunteering much of her free time, which she holds so dearly, for a good cause. I love her bunches and miss playing with her!

Here's my Swap Card

This card was for the New Bloggers Spring Swap with any manufacturer's products. The white paper is embossed with Swirls in my Cuttlebug. Then I scattered flower punches and covered them with pink tulle that I stitched to the front of the card. The stamp is a $1.00 stamp from JoAnns and I also used my Mega Scalloped Oval punch. Thanks for looking. Hope you like it!

An Interactive Retired List

You have got to check this out! Marni, from Stamp Monkeys, made an interactive retired list. When you click on the name of the stamp, it takes you to the Stampin' Up! website where you can see the stamp set. How cool is that!? Thanks so much Marni!

Second group of Spring Blogger Swaps

This card was sent in by Chris Smith. You can see her blog here and her Splitcoast gallery here. I love this card sketch. I have used it a lot. The crab is so cute. Go check her ou. Thanks for the great card Chris.

Kirsten needs your votes!

Hey friends, our friend Kirsten is in a card contest at Serendipity Kits. You have seen her work and you know she ROCKS. She is currently in 3rd place. Argh. Go check out her cards and be sure to cast your vote A.S.A.P.THE CONTEST ENDS AT MIDNIGHT. Before you click on the vote button, you have to click on the bubble in front of the name of the card. The card that is in the running is SWEETHEART.

More Blogger Spring Swaps

This swap group was for new bloggers and we could use any manufacturers products. This first card is by Julie Masse. You can check out her blog here and her SCS gallery here. Don't you just love the Bellas? This is a very pretty card and she is using my new favorite technique, paper piecing, for the pants and baby blanket. Thanks for the great card Julie!

Voila! My Happy Chef

I have seen so many people use this technique of stamping on patterned paper and cutting it out. I just had to try it. I love the way it turned out! Don't you?! I had been waiting to order this set with my "consistancy counts". I want to make recipe cards with this guy. Thanks for looking!

Borrowed Stamps!

I love to borrow stamps from friends. Especially when they're cute, like these! I borrowed these from my friend Carrol. They are from Stampabilities and called "Purse-nally Yours". Aren't they so sweet?

Stamps: Purse-nally Yours, Karen Foster snap stamps alphabet, First in Fashion.

Ink: Black, Grey, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, White Staz On.

Paper: Black, Pixie Pink, White, Provo Craft-Rob and Bob Studio, Studio Basics 101.

Accessories: Bling, Fibers, Lg. & Sm. Oval punches, Sm. & Lg. Tag punches, eyelets, ribbon, Wrought Iron corner punch, Ticket Corner punch, Dimensionals.

Thanks for looking. I hope you like them! Mimi

More Swaps!

Here's a cute card by Anna Zeuniga. Her Splitcoast name is Stampanna and her blog is Stampanna. I love this Unfrogettable set and I have not used it in so long. Can you see the Crystal Effects on the hearts? It really makes them jump off the card. I love this card. Thanks for the great card, Anna!