Thank You Heather!!!

Welcome to the Skipping Stones Design blog hop in honor of the owner Heather.  If you are just popping in, you can start the blog hop here.  I used to design for Skipping Stones, and I love her stamps.  Heather has made the tough decision to take a break from designing her stamps and is scaling back her business to allow her time to focus on family, school and work.  I totally respect that and wish her the best.  Thank you Heather for letting me play with your fun stamps over the years, you are totally awesome and I know you will enjoy this next stage of life just as much.  And we just may see Heather and her wonderful stamps later on in life.  ;)

So today we were asked to make a card using one of our favorite stamp sets from Skipping Stones.  I have many that I just adore, but this is definitely one of my favs.  I used the Breathtaking Butterflies stamp set.  You can never have too many butterflies.  :)

Here's my card:

I used my sketch for my current challenge for this card, sketch 229c.

And I paired the stamp set with one of my favorite paper collections, Hopscotch from Fancy Pants Designs.

Don't forget to leave comments on all the blogs in the hop today for a chance to win some awesome stamp sets!

Your next blog stop is the fabulous Jingle.  Hop on.  ;)

And have a fantastic day!!!!

Changes

Hi everyone!!  As you may have noticed, I've had a busy August.  Which means, I haven't been posting as much.  Now that my kids are back in school I am hoping I will get more accomplished that I can post.  I've been working on some stuff I can't post yet.  I have written a book, and done projects for that.  Will it get published?  Well, I am going to try--I'll let you know how it goes.  Plus I have been playing around with product design.  Will anything come of that?  Who knows.  I had one smaller company interested in a collection I designed, but a few things have changed and I am thinking that's not going to happen.  BUT I've been in touch with another company who seems interested but it wouldn't happen for awhile.  So we'll see....  Really, I have no idea.  I have just been craving change lately.  I want to try new things in this industry (and out of it).  I've been dreaming of purchasing a large amount of land and opening a retreat, with a large studio, classrooms, and a gallery.  But as of right now, that is just a dream.  I'm going to try!  I really want it.  But I know it will take a lot of money and a lot of time before it happens.  But see what I mean--change, I'm longing for it.

Well with the end of August does comes some changes for me and my scrapping obligations.  Two of my design teams are ending.  You may have seen that BasicGrey announced a new DT, and my name is not on it.  Totally ok.  Like I've said, I am really wanting some change.

Congrats to the new BasicGrey DT!

And then my term with Skipping Stones Design is also coming to an end.  It's been fun.

Congrats to the new Skipping Stones Design DT!

So that leaves me with two DT's.  And to be honest, one of them may end soon...I am waiting to see how something turns out.  If I get down to one...I don't know what I'll do with myself.  ;)  Right now I have to decide if I would even want to pursue more DT's.  Honestly, only one DT sounds wonderful.  But I also know me.  I thrive off deadlines, so I am not sure I would get much done if I do not have a deadline.  DT's don't really need me, I need them to get things done.  Am I weird?  But I also love the idea of letting NEW people on the DT's, fresh faces.  And let's face it...I am no longer really a fresh face.

So help me think this out.  How do I give myself deadlines and keep them?  Should I post a blog schedule on here and have you guys hold me to it?  Maybe I stop worrying about the blog and don't worry if I don't get much done at all?  What other ideas do you have?  Seriously, I want to hear what you have to say.  :)

In the meantime...

Here's my card for the SSD challenge this week, my last card as DT for SSD:

It is inspired by the retro sketch of the week:

It's retro because it's been used before, we've been bringing back some favorites this month.  I hope you play along with the sketch!  You do NOT have to use Skipping Stones stamps to play along, but you can win some!  ;)  Play along here.

My circle on my card is actually cut out.  The image you see is stamped on the inside of the card.  Here's how my card looks standing up:

And this is the inside:

I used the gorgeous Victorian Summer stamp set from Skipping Stones Design on my card.

Well thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hope you have a wonderful day!  :)

Cards!

It seems I've been making more cards than layouts lately.  I have a few to share with you today.

First up....

It is loosely based on this sketch (turned and tweeked) from the Skipping Stones Design sketch challenge this week:

It's actually a flashback sketch as it was their first ever sketch challenge.  Kinda cool.  You can play along here.

The stamp I used is from the Breathtaking Butterflies stamp set from Skipping Stones.  And the papers I used are all from the Sweet Childhood collection from The ScrapCake.

And then I have two more cards to share with you using the Sweet Childhood collection:

That "Happy Birthday" on the last card comes from the Grunge stamp set from Skipping Stones.

I've been having a lot of fun playing with this Sweet Childhood collection.  I've got a layout to share soon using it.  :)

Well thanks so much for stopping in today!
YOU rock!  :)

Have a fantastic day!

Sweet and Not

Hi everyone!

Well Tuesday's are new challenges over at Skipping Stones Design and this week we have another inspiration challenge.  Here's the inspiration:

And this is the card I made:

I used the Cupcake Cutie stamp set for my card.

And I wanted to remind you (or point it out in case you missed it) that Skipping Stones Design is looking for new designers for their design team!  Applications are due THIS Friday, so if you are interested, make sure you get that application in!  Here's the information on that.



On a much different note...

I just wanted to shout out to the survivors of the infamous Aurora shootings.  That's pretty much my backyard...so it really hit close to home this time.  And my heart goes out to all of those that lost loved ones in this horrific event.

I was going to post something on Friday.  And then again on Saturday.  But frankly...I just didn't have the words.  The TV has been constantly reporting on it here.  And I admit, Friday, I watched along with the rest of the world...disgusted and shocked.   I do feel unsafe.  But I also think that was what the gunman probably wanted.

But I am loving all the stories of bravery and sacrifice that are arising from this event.  There was 1 guy who did a horrible thing.  And like 50 people who did extraordinary things.  Their first impulse was to do good...to help.

There's a lot more good in this world than evil.  And sometimes, we just need to remind ourselves of that.  So I urge you to remember this event in a way that honors those lost....in a way that shows how GREAT this world can be!

That's all.

I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thanks for stopping in!

SSD Inspiration Challenge

Hi all!  Just popping in to share the latest challenge with you over at Skipping Stones Design.  Oh wait...it's new release day!   So we are hopping along today.  You should have come from Laurel's blog...if not, I hope you consider hopping with us.  Start at the SSD blog.  And today's release is a fantastic one, one of my favorite sets from Skipping Stones:

It's called Darling Damask!  I love it.

And our challenge this week is another inspiration challenge.
Here is the inspiration photo:

Here's the card I made for this challenge:

Pretty simple, but I really like how it turned out.  I was inspired by the colors, the ruffles, and the yellow flowers in the inspiration photo.  

The paper and the flowers are both from BasicGrey.  

I do hope you play along with us this week.  You do NOT have to have Skipping Stones stamps to play along...but you can win some by playing!  :)  

Now hop on to Cyndi's blog for more inspiration!  :)

Have a wonderful day!!!  

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a fun and safe Fourth of July!

Well you've popped in on just the right day because we have some fun stuff going on!

The Skipping Stones Design Team is thrilled to be teaming up with the fabulous designers from The Ribbon Carousel to bring you a blog hop that is sure to impress!  

Here's the card I made for this week's inspiration challenge on the SSD blog.  This was the inspiration photo:

And this is the card I made:

I was inspired by the flags, as well as the kraft background with the red, white and blue.  

I used the fabulous Cupcake Cutie stamp set from Skipping Stones.  

I used 4 different ribbons on my card, all from Ribbon Carousel.  Three for the flags I made and then the wide red, white, and blue one near the bottom.  

Ok...now let's talk prizes...

Hop along and leave some blog love for our designers for a chance to win one of 2 great prizes!  The Ribbon Carousel will be giving away a ribbon carousel and Skipping Stones Design will be giving away a stamp set of the winner's choice!   Winners will be announced on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST!  

Ready to hop?!  

Lets do it!

You'll want to hop on the Peggy next (see full list below).  But don't forget to first leave a comment here!  

Hope you have a fabulous FOURTH!!!  :)

SSD 133

Hey there...just a quick pop in to share with you what I did for the newest sketch over at Skipping Stones Design.

I used the gorgeous Victorian Summer stamp set, as well as a bit of a sneak of a new one for the background...more on that one soon.

This is the sketch this week:

You can play along here.  And I do hope you play along.  You do not need to have Skipping Stones Design stamps to play along...but you can win some by doing so!  :)

Thanks for stopping in!
Have a wonderful day!!!  It's my son's birthday today and it is all about him!  :)  (He's 9!)

SSD Release

So Skipping Stones Design has a beautiful new stamp set called Breathtaking Butterflies.  And today we are hopping and sharing cards with the new set and sketch 132.

Here's my card:

It also uses the One Moment in Time collection from The ScrapCake.

Here is what sketch 132 looks like:

I hope you play along with the sketch here (you do NOT have to use SSD stamps).

Now it's time to hop on to Cyndi to see what she did with the beautiful new stamp set and sketch 132.  :)

Have a FANTASTIC day!

SSD + The Twinery Blog Hop!

Hello everyone!  Welcome to the first day of the fabulous blog hop with Skipping Stones Design and The Twinery!  If you came from Teri, than you are in the right spot.  If not, why don't you join in the fun and start at The Twinery's blog.  You can win some twine and some stamps today by leaving comments along the way!  So, why not join in the fun!  :)    The deadline for leaving comments is 11:59pm EDT, Friday May 25th.  Winner will be announced on The Twinery Blog
Sunday, May 27th.

So today I am sharing a fun card that I made using the new Grapeful stamp set from Skipping Stones Design.  

I also used a bit of the Pumpkin Seed Sentiments stamp set.  The papers and stickers are from the  What's Up? collection from BasicGrey.   And of course, the twine is from The Twinery.

I attempted to create a grapefruit for my background, complete with sugar (aka glitter).  Not entirely sure how well that turned out.

And then I made sure to stamp my fruit image in a pinkish/salmon color to look like a grapefruit piece, rather than a lemon or lime (which many people are using the image for).

It was one of those cards where I just kept trying new things and ended up with a bunch of layers.  What do you think?

The card is based on sketch #129 at Skipping Stones Design.  To play along, just upload your card here.  You do not even have to use SSD stamps.  :)  I do hope you play along with us.

And don't miss out on the awesome PMS sale going on now...all details can be found here.

Well thanks so much for stopping by today!  Your next stop on the blog hop is Dorangela.

Have a fantastic day!!!

In 5 Minutes...

You can heat soup or make a sandwich.
You can change a load of laundry (most days).
You can read a book to a 3 year old.
You can play with your dog.
You can do a quick browse on facebook.

You can make a mini card:

Life is so busy!  For us all.  And 5 minutes is sometimes all you have, so easy and simple projects can be a lifesaver.

My mini card is done for sketch 128 over at Skipping Stones Design.  I used the beautiful Uplifting stamp set.

This card also uses papers from The ScrapCake, from their My Private Happiness collection, and twine from The Twinery.     

I really enjoy making mini cards.  for one, I LOVE large images for cards, so smaller cards make the images more front and center.  And they are so easy to add to gifts.  

Here's the sketch:

The sketch was created by the fabulous Heidi Van Laar.  I hope you take the challenge and play along with us!  *You do NOT have to have Skipping Stones Design stamps to play along!*  Play along here. 

And you don't want to miss out on what the rest of the team did with this sketch, check those out here:

* Jennifer Ingle

* JoAnn Valderama

* Karen Baker

* Katie Gehring

* Lindsay Amrhein

* Stephanie Mino

* Wendy Jordan

* Wendy Price

And our guests for the month, along with Dina:

* Jen Rzasa

* Taylor Usry

So, like I said, I hope you play along with us!  :)

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY EVERYONE!!!! 

Have a fantastic day!!!

SSD 127

** I still have a giveaway open here.

Hi everyone!  Hope you all are having a wonderful week already.  My card I am sharing today is done for sketch 127 over at Skipping Stones Design.  I used the beautiful Always Here stamp set.

Here's the card:

This card also uses papers, gems and trims from Webster's Pages, from their Everyday Poetry collection.  I thought I would use several trims on my card, piled on top of each other.  I love it...course, I love trim!  :)   

And here's the sketch:

The sketch was created by the fabulous Heidi Van Laar.  I hope you take the challenge and play along with us!  *You do NOT have to have Skipping Stones Design stamps to play along!*  Play along here. 

And you don't want to miss out on what the rest of the team did with this sketch, check those out here:

* Jennifer Ingle

* JoAnn Valderama

* Karen Baker

* Katie Gehring

* Lindsay Amrhein

* Stephanie Mino

* Wendy Jordan

* Wendy Price

And our guests for the month, along with Dina:

* Jen Rzasa

* Taylor Usry

So, like I said, I hope you play along with us!  :)

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY EVERYONE!!!! 

Have a fantastic day!!!

Color

Hi everyone!  My stuff is piling up that I want to share with you!  Today's layout was done for The ScrapCake's blog for quote week.  We were to use a quote on our project.  I chose this quote by John Mayer: "I know a girl, she puts the color inside of my world."  But I didn't leave it at that...I just had to add "but it's mostly pink."  :)  Here's the layout:

I used the FABULOUS My Private Happiness collection from The ScrapCake...I just LOVE this collection.  :)  And you may notice that I also stamped a butterfly from Skipping Stones Design.

As far as the quote part, I just opened the quote and cut on my Cameo.  Then I layered the borders piece of paper behind it, allowing for different colors and designs to shine through the letters.

Here are some close up's of my layout:

And speaking of Skipping Stones Design, I didn't have time to get to the new sketch for this week, but it IS up now, so check it out and play along here.  :)

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!!!!!

Music

Music plays such a big part of my life.  I connect with lyrics and notes in a way I can't do with just words.    I may be weird.  :)  Anyways, so we were given the challenge at The ScrapCake to be inspired by music and create a project.  I created a layout and put the lyrics to a song on it that has been on repeat for awhile now on my ipod.

Here's my layout:

The song is called Broken Hallelujah and is sung by Mandisa.  I seriously love it.  The papers all come from The ScrapCake, mostly from the One Moment in Time collection, but there is a little bit of My Private Happiness thrown in there too.  :)

You can also find some stamped images on my layout!  I used the equally fabulous Heartsong and Heartsong 2 stamp sets from Skipping Stones Design.

And then I used my Cameo to cut the girl.  :)

Here are some close up's of my layout:

Do you want to know a secret about this layout?  I made a total mistake!  When I printed the words to the song I didn't proof read well enough at all.  I left out a g.  Out of "sing".  "When all that I can sin."  Yep, that's pretty bad to type sin instead of sing.  :)  And I didn't notice until the whole layout was done.  So I decided to "fix" it adding a g with a pen and then outlining several different words like I meant it to look like that all along.  Not so sure I pulled it off, but at least I am now singing instead of sinning.  ;)   

Thank you so much for stopping in today!  

I hope you have a FANTASTIC day (and weekend).