Whew! ANOTHER card!!

Yes, I have been a card making fool today.  Silhouette has a sketch challenge on their blog this week, and I needed a birthday card for my mother-in-law.  So I broke out the beautiful Basic Grey "Serenade" papers from my November Simon Says Stamp card kit and got to work.

Of course, I cut the tag, the banner and the speech bubble with my Cameo.  The brad is from My Mind's Eye and the jute is American Crafts.

Scrapping Cat, Jr.

For my birthday I got myself a new kitty.  We'd been talking for a while about getting another cat, but I was worried about Lily because she's not the nicest cat to outsiders (that's really an understatement...she's downright mean to anyone not in the immediate family!).  But Hubby loves cats and thought Lily needed a playmate.  So the day after my birthday I went to Petsmart and found the sweetest kitty on the face of the planet:

She loves to cuddle, which is the complete opposite of Lily.  At first Lily was NOT a happy cat.  But gradually she has decided that it's not terrible to have a friend to chase and play with.  They're still not the best of friends, but it's only been a few weeks.  I'm hopeful they will learn to live in perfect harmony!

I made this layout for the Big Idea Festival, Challenge #8.  Karen Grunberg challenged us to make a layout about something that has brought us joy, and this little sweetie has certainly done that for me!  I used Basic Grey Out of Print papers, Lily Bee letter stickers and Thickers.  The Hello name badge was designed in Silhouette Studio and cut with my Cameo.

Another challenge card - The Play Date Cafe

I don't know why all of a sudden I've been inspired to participate in challenges, but it's certainly getting me scrapping!

The colors for this week's challenge at The Play Date Cafe wouldn't have been ones I normally would have chosen for a card, but I knew I had some Basic Grey Plumeria papers that would work perfectly.

This card is the perfect example of why sorting all of my embellishments by color works really well for me.  I just went into my purple drawer and instantly found the flowers.  The pearl centers were colored by my Copics.  That's really the only reason I have Copics, because I don't color.  But they are amazing for custom coloring gems, pearl, ribbons and just about anything else you can think of!

Happy 25th Anniversary to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law!

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been 25 years since my little sister got married!  She beat me to the altar by three years.  Haha!  Her husband was my brother's best friend in high school, and he finally convinced my brother that it would be OK for him to date his sister.  And now, 25 years, 4 kids and multiple homes (he was Air Force for many years), they are still happily married and having the time of their lives.  We are so blessed to live close and be able to see them frequently (actually, my whole family lives in the same county here in Indiana now, which is unbelievable considering that both my brother AND brother-in-law were in the Air Force!).

Here is the card I made for their anniversary:

I used papers from my July Simon Says Stamp Card Kit and the sentiment is from the June Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.  I'm not sure where the number stamps came from.  I just added a little silvery pearl (because it's their silver wedding anniversary...how clever of me! Ha!) and sent it off.

I hope they have 25 more wonderful years together!

Card making frenzy!

Yes, I've been a card making fool lately!  Summer is always crazy with so many family birthdays, holidays and anniversaries in the months of June and July.  So my full layouts are set aside for some serious card action.  Here are a few of my latest:

Mom and Dad's Anniversary

 Yet another card from my Simon Says Stamp June Card Kit.  I think I MAY have used up most of the kit finally!  The stamp is from Ali Edwards Love Stamp Set.

Birthday card for my Grandmother-in-law's 93rd Birthday!

 Everything is from the Simon Says Stamp July Card Kit.  Those stamps are just amazing.  I was really happy with how the flowers turned out.  I fussy cut them and them sprayed them with Mister Huey Shine.

Baby card for my cousin

I used my Cameo for this one (design #4130), and the papers are My Mind's Eye Dwell.

I Remember...

Still using prompts from Lain Ehman's Your Story Matters.  I found this photo when I was creating my parents' 50th anniversary slide show.  Love the deep greens and blues that I remember were characteristic of this special place of my childhood.  That's me, my mom, my little sister and my little brother.  I forgot how stinkin' cute my brother was when he was little!

I did those cool woodgrain letters with my Cameo!  Found the font, filled it with a woodgrain pattern, printed and then cut!  So awesome!  The papers are really old.  I think the solid is a Basic Grey and the pattern is K. and Co.?  That's what I get for not organizing everything by manufacturer!  Oh, well...

Beautiful Smiles

This photo was taken a couple of years ago at my parents' 50th wedding anniversary party.  The girl and her older cousin look so much alike, especially their adorable dimples.  I don't know why I've waited so long to scrap this photo.  I think it was just waiting for the right paper and layout idea.

In case you hadn't already figured it out, I love Basic Grey.  And when I saw the Plumeria line, with its gorgeous purples, I couldn't wait to use it.  This layout is based on a layout by Janet Zeppa (scroll down to see her original).  I used my Cameo for the title, the banners, and the frame around the stamped sentiment at the top.  The stamp is from Favorite Memories by Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday.

Valentine's Day Cards

Whipped out some Valentine's Day cards for my loved ones.  When I first saw these papers from Basic Grey's Kissing Booth, I knew I wanted to fussy cut the wonderful hearts.  The brown card on the left is for my boy, cause I figured he'd want a more "masculine" card.  The one on the right is for my hubby.  The stamp is from Ali Edwards LOVE stamp set.

And when I saw these cut files in the Silhouette store (design #25272 and #25273), I knew I HAD to make a card for my daughter using them.  Her sorority "mascot" is a squirrel, so this was perfect!  I think it turned out just adorably!

That little squirrel face just makes me smile!

Wow, it's been a while!

Life is just too hectic and it's going by way too fast!  Spent all last week learning about property and casualty insurance and now I'm a licensed "producer" (which means I can sell insurance but that's not what my job is but now I can legally answer questions from our clients...haha!).  The week before I was busy documenting my life for Week in the Life...still working on getting that finished, which may take me several weeks!  But it was fun to do.  Weekends have been packed with lots of shopping for college, and last weekend we got DS's apartment outfitted and ready for him to officially move into this weekend.  We will also be moving DD into her dorm the same day...should be an exhausting weekend again!

Despite the craziness of life lately, I HAVE kept up fairly well with my Big Picture class.  Here are my "Blue" and "Purple" layouts:

Basic Grey Lauderdale papers matched the dress colors PERFECTLY, and I'm so happy with how this turned out!  Colored the bling and flowers with my Copics, used ancient MM rubons for the white title letters and, of course, my beloved Silhouette for the other lettering!

More old BG papers (I can't remember which line right now! ETA: I looked when I got home...it's "Lucky"), Distress Inks, and I made my own accordion flower for the first time!  Not thrilled with the flourishes on this...I might take them off and do something different.  But I adore these pictures of my kids!  They've always loved dancing at weddings!

On a side note, guess what came in the mail yesterday?  My AARP card!  Yes, I am officially old!  I may be a blubbering mess on Sunday...empty nest and 50 all in the same day.  Or, I could be jumping up and down with excitement.  I think I'll choose the latter!

Color Week Two - Orange

First of all, let me say I do NOT like orange.  I own not a single stitch of orange clothing.  I told my daughter she could not go to the University of Illinois because I refuse to wear orange.  LOL!  But this week at my Big Picture Class, the color was...orange.  I had to go buy some orange paper because...seriously...I had like three pieces from a paper stack from the mid-90's.  But, miraculously, I had a cute picture of DD at the beach in an orange and white striped top.  And the layout created itself.  And, I really love it!  It helps that Nic Howard gives us awesome sketches and step by step instructions to work with.  Love her style and her techniques!  So, without further ado, here is my orange layout:

Don't you just love that pleated paper look on the right side?!  The papers are Basic Grey Life of the Party, base cardstock is Bazzill, the stamp is from Autumn Leaves, flowers are Prima and the rub ons are ancient MME that I found in my stash and matched perfectly!  And, of course, I used my beloved Silhouette for the title and the sun die cut.  Oh, and the lacy border and the pleated border!  I think I would die if that thing quit working!  I used one of the rub ons in the center of the sun...felt very clever on that one!  Haha!

Speaking of the beach...I'm off to Mexico tomorrow to build a house!  It's a quick trip, so hopefully I'll be back next week with my GREEN layout!