baby cakes

Thanks for all the happy wishes on the baby news yesterday! We still have to figure out the perfect boy's name. . .but I'm sure we'll think of something!!!

Kim Hughes made the cutest little cupcake stamp, as part of her Tag, You're It set (from Cornish Heritage Farms) It SO cute (and SO tiny! I'm always afraid I am going to lose this stamp!) This card didn't make it into the May/June issue of PaperCrafts, but they did use it for one of their bonus online projects. I just thought I'd share the link!

edited: i don't know why the first link i posted doesn't work, but if you go to THIS link, scroll down to the Online Bonus Projects - mine is called "Baby Cakes Card."

http://www.papercraftsmag.com/issues/index.html?current_issue

It's a. . . .

BOY!!!

we're really excited, and after all this excitement. . .I need a NAP. just wanted to share the news!!!!

XOXOX

Cutie patooties!!!

(card goodies: stamps - Cornish Heritage Farms, cardstock - WorldWin, ink (Close To My Heart)

Happy Sunday! This week's CPS sketch is sponsor-free. . .which was nice, since I had some new stamps I was anxious to ink up!!! Love these sea animals from Kim Hughes at Cornish Heritage Farms!!!

So tomorrow is the day. . .we'll find out if we're having a boy or a girl. We are really anxious to find out, although we still don't have a boy name picked out. Hmmm. . . . I'll be sure to pop in tomorrow and share my news!!!

Have a great week!!!
XOXO

The Biggest Unity Blog Hop EVAHHHH!

Is this craazy or what!? It's the biggest Unity blog hop EVER!

(If you're just starting here, go hop on over to Angela, to start the Inspirational Blog Hop from the begining!)

Here's a quote I'm loving right now. . .

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."

~E.B. White

(card goodies: stamps - Unity "You+Me=Happy, cardstock, patterned paper, ink - CTMH, ribbon - Bazzill )

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy hopping!

From here, hop on to Tami Jo!

As promised . . .

Here it is - another CPS card for this week! This is another little card, based on Tami's sketch for the week, and using up a little more of my TAC goodies. I added the ivory cardstock, and the brads (from CTMH) This little birdie is such fun to paper-piece. I know, I know, you are completely sick of me talking about paper-piecing. I can't help myself!!!

Gonna make this short and sweet today. . .my parents are coming into town tonight, for a QUICK visit. I can't wait! Bryce has been asking for DAYS when they would be here, so THANK GOODNESS, the day is finally here!

And we're all counting the days till Monday, because we will find out whether our newest little addition is a girl or a boy!!!! Then the planning can REALLY begin!!! Woohooo! Don't worry, I'll be SURE to keep you posted, and share the news on Monday!

Oh - one more thing! Be sure to join in tomorrow for Unity Stamp Company's HUGE, GIANT, unbelievably big BLOG HOP. . .customers, design team members, and lovers of Unity all over the globe, all joining in to share inspiration. The hopping will start at Angela's blog at 11:00CST. It'll be a blast!!! Okay - I am really outta here. So much for my SHORT post today!!

XOXO

Happy May Day (in March) Hip Hop!

Wait - what month is it?! Not to worry . . . we just want to help you plan ahead! Do you celebrate May Day? I'd really love to know, in all honesty, because although I never have. . .it sounds super cute! Some of the Unity chickies were telling me about making cute baskets of goodies, and leaving them on friends and neighbors doorsteps. HELLLO, how much fun is THAT!? What a sweet surprise for someone!! (Especially if I am the recipient of such a basket!)

In honor of our May Day preparations, here is my May Day inspiration . . . if you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember these lovely little tins from the Target Dollar bin. I've done them for Halloween and Christmas . . . and now here's the Springtime version!

And from here, hip hop along your merry May way, over to Maren!

Happy Thoughts!

Hello to you! Happy Tuesday!

I have had a whole package of this BasicGrey paper sitting in my drawer since before CHRISTMAS, and I finally opened it up last week! What fun interesting patterns, and colors. It isn't quite as bright and cheery as my usual go-to papers, but I think it's really neat. I used stamps from Unity's March Kit of the Month. The flowers and this sentiment are two seperate stamps, but they go so nicely togegther, I find myself using them together over and over! This card was based on Tami Mayberry's sketch #107, at Card Positioning Systems.

Another tiny tidbit about this card . . .I used white cardstock for my stamped image, but as I saw it next to the patterned paper, I wished I used off-white instead. My remedy was to ink up the edges, and use a sponge dauber to sponge some Bamboo ink (from CTMH) over the stamped image, mainly around the edges. I think it helped, and lessened the starkness of the white. Just a little tip to tuck away!

If you are visiting me from Angela's blog, thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you'll come visit again!! And if you haven't been to Angela's blog, go visit her and see another card that I created as part of her Design Team Tuesday feature. . .it's a card you haven't seen here yet!
Have a great day! :)

CPS 108

Good morning! What a sweet sponsor we had at CPS this week . . .Chris Franco, an Independent Demonstrator with The Angel Company was so generous, loading us up with cardstock, patterned papers, and stamps! We each worked with a lot of different products, so be sure to check out the variety of projects at CPS this week! I loved my bright and cheery colors and patterns, and fun playing, and cutting up the paper. (The flowers on this card are both cut from patterned paper.) I have another card using these goodies to share with you later in the week too!
I'm sure Chris would love to have you stop by and visit her, and check out The Angel Company! I wasn't familiar with this company's product until this sponsorship - so it was fun to get to know a new-to-me company!

(card goodies: all from The Angel Company, courtesy of Chris Franco, except red brads, from Colorbok)

Saturday's card. . .and swimwear?!

Happy Saturday! I have a little card to share with you today. I played with this card for quite a long time . . .still not totally sure how I feel about it, but I was trying to take a risk and use a different color scheme from what I might normally use. Purple, is NOT one of my go-to colors, but I really like this paper, and I wanted to make this card work. Every once in a while, it's good to take a risk!! I used some GCD Studios paper (have you been by to see their new blog?) and stamps from Unity's March Kit of the Month.

In other non-crafty news, . . . I spent a wonderful day yesterday with my family, and my hubby's family. I had the YUMMIEST club sandwich for lunch, that I am still thinking about. (tee hee!) Also did some online maternity shopping with my mother-in-law. Have you ever shopped for a maternity bathing suit?Oh DEAR, there are some HORRIFYING ones out there!!! Here's what I ordered. In regular (non-maternity) life I always get swimsuits that have the cute little skirt attached, because the bottom half of me does not care to be exposed!!! But it is REALLY tough to find cute MATERNITY bathing suits with a skirt. I love these polka dots though, and I like that it doesn't have a huge plunging neckline (definitely not in need of extra cleavage-creating swimwear right now!) I have NEVER ordered a bathing suit. . .or any other article of clothing, online before though. I am so particular (just ask anyone who has ever shopped with me before!) so I don't know what the chances are of this actually FITTING. . .but I'll keep my fingers crossed until it arrives next week!

And now, the cartoons are on, and naptime is CALLING my name. Have a wonderful afternoon, and I will be back tomorrow with a new CPS card to share!!! :) Hugs everyone!! XOXO

Hip Hoppy Easter

Easter is still a few weeks away . . .which is EGG-stra good news, because it means we still have time to whip up some Easter cards, get them in the mail, and fill those Easter baskets! I am sure you've gotten lots of great Easter inspiration along the bunny trail - I mean the hip hop trail, and here's just a bit more. I hope you like it! I ADORE this Easter egg from the February Kit of the Month. I paired it with some sweet new paper from Close To My Heart, and the ever-so-wonderful Threading Water punch from Fiskars. (And of course - a little bling!)

Keep on hopping now, right on over to Jeanne's blog.

If I know Jeanne, she's got something EGG-ceptionally sweet to share with you!

Happy Hip Hop!

CPS 107 - Our Daily Bread Designs

I LOVE the way this card turned out - I LOVE the colors in this Daisy D's paper, and this is a beautiful NEW stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs! (It's being released TODAY, in fact!) I used my new Fiskars scallop punch, and a fun flower I had sitting around. (It's Prima, I am assuming!)
Be sure to check out this week's sketch at CPS, if you haven't already! It's a good one! (Oh wait, I always say that, don't I!??) :)

And Happy St. Patrick's Day to ya. . .are you wearing green today!? I actually am - which is surprising, because I NEVER have green to wear on St. Patty's Day (it's not one of my normal wardrobe colors) but I just happen to have inherited a green maternity shirt from a friend - HOORAY! No pinches for me!

Hello, hello! And a happy little card. . .

Happy Sunday evening! We just came inside from watching the space shuttle launch - WOW, it was BEAUTIFUL! Just one of the perks of living in Florida! When we used to live about an hour away from Cape Canaveral, our whole house would shake when the shuttle launched. Pretty amazing. So I just have a cute little Doodlebug Designs card to share tonight. I just love the bright happy colors on this paper.

I'll be back on Tuesday, to share my CPS card. .. due to some new stamps being released by Our Daily Bread Designs, we'll be sharing the NEW goodies right along with ODB, a few days after we normally would. So be sure to check back!!!
Have a great Monday!

Happy Saturday!!!

Hey friends! How are you on this lovely Saturday? There's nothing like feeling sick for two months, to give you a great appreciation for feeling HUMAN AGAIN! I'm certainly not feeling perfect, but GOSH, I feel better than I did! It is SO nice. I'm slowly catching up on . . .EVERYTHING. Life in general. And it feels good. And I am even typing to you, from my brand new computer armoire. . .I'll have to take a picture when I get it all set up - its beautiful!! Since the office, is becoming the baby's room, we had to do some rearranging, and make some more organized space around here!

This is a card using Unity's You + Me = Happy set. Love this mushroom. I did a combo of paper-piecing, and colored pencil to color it, and popped it, along with the turtle, up on foam tape. I stamped the flowers (from the November (?) Kit of the Month, and then traced over them in colored pencil. It just needed a little extra something in the background. All the patterned paper is from Scenic Route.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT day!!

XOXOX

Happy Hip Hop!!!

Happy Hip Hop!!!
So sorry to be running late today! For some reason my post wouldn't post AND I ended up having to just REDO my post. . .so I am keeping this SHORT and sweet before I hold things up more!

I am happy to share this cute card I did a few weeks ago, with the February Kit of the Month (plus those sweet Fun With Four Inches borders!)

From here, hop on to Heather M!!!!

some more Apron Strings goodies!

Hello, hello! I am sitting here waiting for the repairman to come and fix my dishwasher. . .my sweet hubby turned it on at midnight, before coming to bed . . .and at 7:30 the next morning IT WAS STILL RUNNING! Umm. . .hello? How crazy is THAT!
So to distract myself from the dishes that are piling up (thank goodness for paper plates!) I thought I would come by and share some cards. These are two more that I did with the Apron Strings March card kit. The paper on the flipflop card is from Imaginisce (how CUTE is that!?) and the paper on the butterfly card is I THINK from Pebbles Inc. (and the glittered paper is from Doodlebug designs.) To attach the paper to the chipboard butterfly, I just turned it over, traced the chipboard, and cut it out. It fit pretty much perfectly!

I hope you have a GREAT day! I think I better go straighten up the kitchen before the poor fix-it man walks into a GIANT mess! (Think Leaning Tower of Pisa. . .the dirty dish version!) ;)

Some wood stamps for sale!

(EDITED: All stamps have sold! THANK YOU!)

All I can think of, is the classic children's book, called Caps For Sale. The man walks around yelling "Caps for sale! 50 cents a cap!" Well, I don't have caps for sale, but I do have stamps for sale. . .and although they aren't 50 cents a stamp, I am DEFINITELY willing to make a deal!So check out what I have, (if you click on the image, it should make it a little larger.) All of these stamps are used, but some of them are just barely used. Later on today, I will try and measure some of the stamps to give you an idea on the size - I know it can be difficult to tell in the photos, especially if you aren't familiar with the stamps. I have more stamps too . .. but here's a start. Some of these were not originally in a set together . . and some of them are not totally complete sets, but if you aren't some sort of crazy Close To My Heart stamp collector, then hopefully it won't matter to you, if you like the stamps!

At this point, I don't have a hard fast price for anything. If there's a set you're interested in, just email me, and let's chat about it! I really just want to be rid of them, to free up some space. I am happy to give you a GREAT deal. :) So email me - tomatoL at aol dot com, or lauralooloo at 2Peas, and SCS.

I'll try to pop back in and add some measurements to these sets. Happy Monday, and Happy shopping!! ;)

CPS 106, Dream Big!

I'm getting a late start on my usual Sunday morning post. We'll blame it on the hour we lost last night! :)

How FUN is this week's sketch at CPS!? The big vertical swirl is TOO fun to work with! Be sure to check out the sketch, the other girls' cards, and try it out yourself! I have another sketch card to share this week too - and I can see myself doing another, and another!

All of the supplies on this card are from CTMH, some new paper and stamps that came out a few months ago, that I hadn't been able to play with yet!

Have a great day!

my faves!!!!

Finally, as promised. . .here are my two favorite cards from the Apron Strings March kit. This patterned paper is from Pebbles Inc, and I just LOVE it! Stripes and polka dots - ya just can't go wrong with that! I think this bottom card is based on one of Tami's CPS sketches, from way back when. . .but I am not sure which one! I just had it in my head, and I really like how it turned out. I dusted off my pinking shears to trim that orange paper. I think it was JUST what the card needed!

I am HAPPY to report that I have had very good luck selling some stamps and goodies this week. I am taking a stack of packages to the post office tomorrow morning, but I still have a few more things available, and a few more to post next week.

Here's whats still available:

Skipping Stones Stamp Purse

CHF ScrapBlock stamp

Kandi Corp Hot Fix Applicator

Have a great weekend!!! See you tomorrow, with a REALLY fun CPS sketch!

Hip Hop + Me = Happy!

Hello cute new stamp release, called You + Me = Happy!!!!

Have you seen it yet!? Turtles. . .flowers. .. a mushroom. . . .OH SO CUTE!!!!!

If I were this stamp set, the phrase would probably go more like . . .

Orange Soda and potato chips + Me = Happy

(anybody got a stamp set for THAT?)

If you're happy and you know it,
then keep on Hip Hopping to Lynn,

and see what cuteness she has up her sleeve!

(flower card goodies: patterned paper - CTMH, ink - StazOn, ribbon - craft supply, colored pencils - Prismacolor

turtle card: patterned paper - Imaginisce, cardstock - Bazzill, ribbon, jewels - unknown source)

You're turtle-rific! A new card, and stuff for sale!

Okay, so THIS is super cool. A stamp. . . but its DIGITAL. The turtle on this card, was created by my sweet and super talented friend, Tami Mayberry! (You know Tami. . .sketch queen extrodinare from Card Positioning Systems!) Tami is designing stamps for Sweet N Sassy Stamps - a super sweet little stamp company who sells clear stamps. . .AND digital stamps. So get this - I printed this image directly onto my colored cardstock (white, dark green, light green, and yellow) and immediately got to the good stuff. . .PAPER-PIECING! I paired Tami's turtle with some Sweet N Sassy stamps from the Pond Pals set. This turtle works PERFECTLY with Pond Pals, and has given new life and inspiration to the set for me!
Tami's super sweet digital turtle stamp will be available TOMORROW!!! Be sure to check it out!

And while you have shopping on the brain, if you want to scoop up a bargain, I have some goodies up for sale at 2peas!
Stamps for sale!
Kandi Corp Hotfix Applicator for sale!

I'll be back tomorrow for Unity's Hip Hop Thursday . . .come visit to see cards using NEW releases coming out tomorrow! Have a great night!
XOXO

Apron Strings Designs - March Kit

I have such fun designing for Apron Strings monthly card kit. I only have the opportunity about 4 times a year, but it's such a treat! It's fun to get a big package in the mail, never knowing what will be inside, and have the limitations of only using what's in the box! (Although I can supplement with alphabet stamps and stickers if I'd like.) These are the first two (of seven) cards I made with this month's kit. If you are looking for a card kit company - check out Apron Strings. The kits are FILLED with goodies (I still have paper and embellies left over after my SEVEN completed cards!)

These cards are using Carolee's Creations patterned paper, and sentiments from a sheet that came with the kit. It's hard to tell from the photos, but I used some foam tape to pop up one or two of the stars on each card. It is such a simple way to give your card the POP it sometimes needs!!!! I used great restraint in not sharing my FAVORITE cards yet. I'll make you wait for them. (But it's using THIS paper. . .holy cuteness batman!!) I'll show you those, next!

XOXO

De-junking . ..SUCCESS!!!

Edited. . . . I am so excited to tell you all that the stamps SOLD! So glad I posted it here!!! I have a few more things to sell, once I figure out postage and costs and things. (Thanks Cat! Enjoy your new stamps!)

I LOVE to give things away. I LOVE to share my stash. I wish money were no object, so that I could just mail things to people all the time.

BUT, there are some things I have accumulated, that are just a little too pricey (plus too pricey to ship!) to just give away. So, I have a few things that I am hoping to sell. This is the first item. I posted it at 2peas, on the Buy/Sell board, but I thought I would just mention it here too . . .just in case!!!
It's a brand new box set of stamps - from Inque Boutique. 248 stamps, 3 clear blocks, a stamping mat, storage cases (you can see in the photo below) and a black archival ink pad. Retail price seems to be from $40-49.99. There are some CUTE CUTE images, good for scrapbooking and cardmaking, and 2 alphabet sets. It would be a great set for starting out, but great for an experienced stamper too. I love how it all fits in the little storage rack . . .seems like it would be really great if you don't have a lot of room to store your stuff. Anyhoo, I would love for it to go to a great home (and I'd love to make a little money!). . .I'd like to sell it for $25, INCLUDING priority shipping. If you're interested, send me an email!!! (TomatoL at aol dot com.) Paypal would be my first choice for payment, but not a requirement! :)

I know the images are sort of small . ..if you click on THIS LINK, you can see some up close images of the stamps, plus some great reviews on the product!

I'll be back tomorrow with some NEW Apron Strings card kit projects to share!!!!

Have a great night!!

XOXO

CPS 105 . . .a trip to grandma's house

Can you remember being a little girl, and going through your grandmother's big box of beautiful buttons? All of them were different, and there were always a few that were sparkly or shiny, and looked EXTRA special. Or perhaps it was a "junk" drawer that you loved to dig through - to you it was filled with all sorts of treasures. . .beads, old game pieces, missing earrings, bits of this and that. When I opened my package of card goodies from the Keep In Touch Card Shop, for this week at CPS, I immediately felt like that little girl, finding treasures in the button box again. Kelly packs her kits with amazing treats - new product, plus vintage finds, that you just won't see anywhere else. And the ribbons. . ..ohhhh, the ribbon is AMAZING. She chose different items for each of the CPS designers, based upon our taste and style. . .and let me tell you, SHE NAILED IT!!!!! My kit was filled with bubblegum sunshine colors, exactly what I love to use and just what I needed to brighten my day! (And as you can see from my card, I went a little more crazy than normal on the embellishments, but I just couldn't help myself!!)

You just can't help but feel happy when you visit the KIT website, scrappy goodness and great music playing . .. you just can't help but feel warm and fuzzy while you're there!!!

KIT website

KIT blog