A little yummy roundness

So I wanted to bring you a quick card tonight so I pulled the wishes book open. I absolutly love sketches and our books not only have a sketch but mesurments and some samples to boot.

This is the very first card in the book called simple statement. I hope you enjoy the peek at the new Feburary Stamp of the Month. Sure to be one of my all time favorite stamp sets!!! So super cute!

I decided to play along with Jeanette Lynton's Color me Monday challenge as well.

"Ima Back"

That is what Luigi says every time you continue your game in the new Super Mario Bro's for the Wii.  I did not mean to be gone so long but one day led to the next and then to the next and to the next...time you just cannot stop it.

So as you probably guessed  I have been playing some video games. I have also been making super cute cards that I will be sharing in the very near future but tonight I thought it would be fun to show off my new studio!

Here it is before. As you can see it is very basement family room from 1970. The paneling and the carpet...whoo hooo!

We really would love to rip it out but we just don't have a budget for that right now and we are pretty handy.

I had my dad come over and help us put up some wood to give the look of bead board. I really was so thankful that he came to help us as my hub and I are handy but my dad has done this for a living for oh 25 years or so...anyway it was a lot of fun to watch him work his magic and to help him out too.

My hubby sanded and painted the walls for me. I kept going back and forth on color. I really love green, think Sweat Leaf from CTMH or Celery from SU. I am leaning towards painting my daughters room that color. I also wanted something bold since it is a creative space...light bright blue...no just painted Savannahs' room that color...purple...no I might use that someplace else in the house...hot pink! Yes...er no per Danielle everyone does hot pink and I should so something else. I decided Coral, a color I have always liked a lot and have never really gotten sick of. I went with Simply Coral from Lowes. I am not sure the hubster liked it at first but when I gave my reasons he totally understood.

Here is what it looks like now from the same view point as up above. I have room for 8 scrapbookers or 12 card makers so I am super happy with my space. This is my space over here

I have plenty of storge and lots of room.  It is nice to be able to have my paper and embelishments right at my fingertips.

I also have a little "library" area of sorts with my idea books, my Cricut, some of my alterned items, catalogs and what not. I wanted to put one of those really awesome book shelves from IKEA here but I think I will save the $100 since this fits so well.

Here is the little closet behind my desk...more shelves. I am happy because I can have my files and some of my other things such as wooden stamps and photo's that I am not currenty working with available when I need them but out of sight.

It was hard work to do all this in a weekend but so worth it and everyone pitched in...even little Maizie. I have 45 of these photo's on my camera in her favorite shirt of course. Haha!!!

Testing her wings...

Most people woke up this morning so happy that is was Friday but not me. I woke up feeling a little sad, actually a lot sad. Today my baby is moving out, leaving the nest, flying the coop...today she is learning to fly.

When I woke up I thought about all the different stages first she learned to crawl, to walk, and then to run. She learned to talk to sing I tried to teach her to dance but she would have none of that!  She played sports she bowled she joined the youth group. She rode a big wheel, a scooter, a bicycle with training wheels...then the training wheels came off. Had her first crush, her first date, her first heartache. Learned to drive bought her first car, then her second...now she is on her third. LOL. She learned to color her nails, her face, and coordinate all her clothes. She went to her first dance. She was a daisy, a brownie and then a girl scout.

I made her try new things when she didn't want to, I made her try new foods, I relented and let her stop doing the things that she didn't like. When I first had her I was so scared to be doing it all on my own. I wobbled a few times but just like her as she learned all these things I think I got it right. I think she turned out  just as she was suppose to...my beautiful Dani Bell.

Now the real test starts did I teach her all the right things? Will she make all most of the right choices? Will she succeed?

I think yes. She has always been a bright cautious girl. She can be a little impulsive as young people are but she thinks things through and is not afraid to try new things or to change her mind. She knows who she is and what she wants. She knows how to work hard and to speek her mind. She knows how to stand up for herself and despite her small size she is incredibly strong. She is funny. She is beautiful. She is smart. She is anything she dreams of. She simply is...

Where the boys are...

Boys...so cute but I guess I am not destin to have one.

When I was pregnant with my first all of my friends that were also pregnant all had boys and I had the only girl. With my second everyone else was having girls too. With my third well all my friends had stopped having babies a long time ago...haha!

I knew for sure that Danielle was a girl I just knew it and I was right. With Savannah everything was different and I thought for sure she was a boy. Even though everyone says; oh pregnancies are all different I of course did not beleive them and knew she was a boy. When she was born and the doctor said its a girl I was like really are you sure. Haha! She was just so active in there I just thought...well anyway I was wrong she was a girl and a very beautiful one at that. With Maizie the pregnacy was again very different from the others, but I found out so I knew all along. Anyway back to stamping right?

I sometimes sell my cards at work and so the story goes...I got a text and my co-worker who has only boys and doesn't make cards. She knits and does cross-stitch. Anyway I am really getting off subject today, she texted me and asked if I had any thank you cards. I actually didnt' so I aksed her what kind she was looking for and she said some for a little boy I was like "Ohhhh....really!" I thought how fun I never ever get to make boy stuff!!!

So I started making boy stuff and it was so much fun. I knew right away what paper I was going to use! I have had Stardust for a while but have never had the chance to use it. I was very thrilled because I knew she would love them as he had a Star Wars theme birthday party. Obviously the card and stamp set doesn't look like Star Wars stuff but it has a fun space theme! It was so fun to use Reach for the Stars, a set I just had to have even though I wasn't sure I would be able to use it right away since again I don't have boys. I am so glad I splurged and got it.

I went through the Wishes book and though oh perfect this will be a fun layout. I did have to modify it as it was for a 5" x 7" card and I just wanted the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. I thought it turned out pretty cute and fun too!

I had 10 of them to make and I got to do my favorite thing...coloring! I used markers since I don't have these ink pad left. I just put a little dollop onto a platic bag and picked up the color with a blender pen giving it a watercolor feel. I also made sure to stamp the envelopes.

When I brought them in for my co-worker she loved them! When she took them home to her litle guy...yep he loved them too!

Hope

Wow two posts in one day!

I have been working on some of my list and was really excited to see that the Scripture Challenge was running again this year.  I know that I could have joined it at any time last year but that is one of my quirks. I have to do things in order...you know like reading a series of books in order even if the author says you don't have to. I just like to or I feel like I am missing out or something.

Anyway the first challenge word was Hope.

There is lots of hope in the Bible. I really enjoyed digging into the scripture for my own study. At first I was not sure what I was going to do but I just started looking some of them up and then that would take me somewhere else and on and on I went.

I found my favorite verse about Hope in 1 Corinthians 13:7 "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

Now reading it hear I guess it has more to do with love but I think without hope you don't have love and without love it is hard to have hope. I think all the times I have felt hopeless I have felt unloved. I can't wait to see what comes next I think with time all this will be easier.

I decided to make my project with ACT cards and put them on the 7 Gypsy spining roledex.

Supplies - Veranda Level 2 Paper Pack

Why I scrap

I made this album a few years ago using a great idea and a few sketches from November 2006 Mini PageMaps. I just kept turning the same four sketchs and made a super quick vacation album with the vacation line from Making Memories.

It is so nice now so see my little girl looking at the album as she just loves to look at it.

It makes scrapbooking so worth it. Just to see others look at my pages and smile as they rember the photo or look again and ask questions about the day. It is just well nice.

I {Heart} Close to my Heart! Beat...beat...beat...hop...hop...hop

t is that time again our new Spring Catalog and Idea book was just realeased so we all thought it would be the perfect time to host a blog hop!  We will all bring you some super cute projects each one focusint on new items that you can find in the new Idea Book. If you came from  Kimberly Smith's blog then you are in the right spot!

Here is this fabulous Valentine's Day card set. This set is perfect for moms to do with their kids for parties at school or if you have little itty bitty ones like me you can give them to granparents, daddy's and sunday school teachers or daycare teachers.

The first card with the strips of paper came from the Wishes book, the second card that is the little squares is just a pattern that I like to use all the time. It is just so fun to make the little quilt pattern.

Supplies:

Paper: Topstitch Level 2 Paper Packet

My Acrylix Stamp Set: A Love (A1103)

Ink Colors: Baby Pink & Chocolate

Embellishments: Colonial White Brads, Crochet Ribbon

Now "Hop" on over to Amy Schultz's Blog to see her always fabulous work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and see the great new Paper Packs, My Acrylix Stamp Sets, and amazing new embellishments!

You can purchase any of these items by contacting me directly, or from my CTMH website.

**Link not working? Missed a Blog? Here is a list of all the participants in the New Product Blog Hop!

Amy Edwards http://www.paisleysplayhouse.blogspot.com/ <- you are here
Amy Schultz http://amylizschultz.com/

Erin Herring http://www.tazzygirl2000.blogspot.com/
Lisa Stenz http://www.lisascreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Brae Montogmery http://thebrae-er.blogspot.com/

Carla Ironside http://carlacreates.blogspot.com/
Helen Onulak http://www.hookedonstamping.com/

Adeline Brill http://adeline-brill.blogspot.com/

Jody Gustafson http://www.cre8nmemories.blogspot.com/

Haley Dyer http://www.inkyscrapper.blogspot.com/

Antoinette Herrin http://www.godblessyourart.blogspot.com/

Sherrie Thornton http://impressionableart.blogspot.com/

Jessica Moore http://jessicaspaperpetals.blogspot.com/

Wendy Kessler http://www.myscrapbookingblog.com/
Dawn Ross http://iamahappystamper.blogspot.com/
Dawn Heuft http://www.stamptildawn.blogspot.com/

Kimberly Smith http://verykimberry.blogspot.com/

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great night!!

The comfy couch

I have had this Welcome Home set for a while...I knew I had to have it when I saw it as it was so cute! I am finally getting to play with it and enjoying the end result. I just could not get it to work for me at first.

For this card I fell back into one of my favorite patterns that I got from the Stampin' Up! catalog many moons ago. It was done up in pastels and had a little birdie on the front. It was so cute. I just think the blocks are so versatile you can do a simple pattern like this or really mix it up like my friend Patti on this cute birthday card.

I also been experimenting with mixing up our paper packets ever since I saw a whole segment on talking about how fun it is to mix and match on Art & Soul: Fall Surprises. On this card I used a base of Colonial White and then added a little Tulip and mixed that with some Chocolate and bam! The little square are from the Jingle level 2 paper pack and the Twitterpated level two paper pack. Now I am all for mixing and matching but who would have thought those two would work together so well? Onto the couch...I stamped the one in Tulip and then stamped the image again in Chocolate. I cut the bottom half of the chocolate image and layered it onto the tulip image and then colored in the pillows using a water brush. I also sponged the sides of all the Colonial White and then added the scallops and the brads.

Supplies:

Welcome Home stamp set

PTI stamp set for the sentiment

Jingle Level 2 paper pack

Twitterpatted Level 2 paper pack

Colonial White cardstock

Tulip cardstock & Ink

Chocolate cardstock & Ink

Tulip brads

A big red house

So as many of you know my husband and I bought our first home this year. What you probably don't know is that I had such a sweet realtor help us and she was so kind and dropped off a Christmas gift before the holidays. I put it under the tree and opened some smelly good stuff on Christmas morning. It was a little smelly good kit, you know those new stick things, it also had a candle and a car smelly good hanger. I just thought it was so sweet and above and beyond. She had already given us a cute little snuggly blanket when we purchased our house. I love to use it to snuggle up in front of the fire place.

Anyway I wanted to make a her a nice card to say thank you and I came up with this card

I was inspired by Debbie Olsen's card Love is in the Air her designs are always so fresh and fun.

I decided to keep the card pretty mono chromatic feeling.

Materials are all CTMH:
Cardstock - Colonial White, Tulip
Kit - That's Amore, That's Amore My Stickease
Ink - Tulip, Chocolate
Stamps: Neighborhood, Say it in Style, Made with Love