Doggie and Dino Birthdays

Quick post to say hello and check in. These are 2 birthday cards I made - my middle guy had 2 parties in the same weekend a couple of weeks. And believe it or not, it's not that uncommon around here for any of the boys. I think we have 2 this weekend again. My kids are still at the age where everyone mostly has big parties and lots of friends.

Both cards are colored with my lovely prismas and gamsol. I really love using both the prismas and the copics - they both have such different results. I also like how by pairing Wild Wasabi with different colors, it worked just as well for a girl card as it did for the boy birthday card. I had originally bought Wild Wasabi thinking about all the ways I could use it for the boys scrapbook pages and boy cards, but just by pairing it with pink, it worked for a girl card as well. I love pink and green together, but normally don't pair the pink with such a dark green... Now I know! :)

So glad the week is half way through, but I can't believe how quickly it is moving. I have a full load at work, so the days are flying by in a blink of an eye. Which in the whole scheme of things is better than dragging, or worse not being busy at all with a job. Crazy times... So on that note, I better head to bed to be refreshed for a new day tomorrow. :)

Deets: 1st card - Stamp: Elzybells, LAD; CS: PTI Sweet Blush, Stamper's Select White, SU Wild Wasabi; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Wild Wasabi; Basic Grey PP; Other: Basic Grey brads, dimensionals; PTI Sweet Blush Swiss Dots ribbon, Prismas and Gamsol

Dino Birthday: Stamps, CHF Little Guy and Tags sets: CS: SU Wild Wasabi, Stamper's Select White, Basic Grey PP; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Other: Prismas and Gamsol

Oh Baby {Pink}!

It's a beautiful day today - the temps are soaring their way to the 50s. That practically makes for a balmy day here on the east coast. I am definitely heading out for a run today - just waiting for my hubby to get out of the shower. The kids are getting bigger, but are definitely not of the age where I'd leave the house when he can't easily get to them if need be.

Anyway, since I probably will not make it down to the basement today... lots of errands and things to do, I thought I'd share the card that I worked on at the end of last week. This is the girly version using the same stamps and layout as this card. I thought the paper piecing came out really nicely on this one. I hope I'll have a reason to give this one out soon... :)

Enjoy the day!

Stamps: Elzybells and Inky Antics (sentiment); CS: PTI - Berry, Basic Grey PP, PTI Stampers Select White; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Other: PTI Light Pink (I'm blanking on the PTI color names right now and am not in the basement to check!), twine (maybe SU?), dimensionals, prismas and gamsol, paper snips, SU scallop edge punch, Nesties (both circles and the tag)

Oh Baby {Blue}!

Hope that you had a great rest of your weekend. We had another snowy day today, but not enough to stay home from work (oh well). I've started to work on my kids' Valentines - I have a ton to make this year - my kids have multiple "classes" since they are in school for the full-day, including after school programs. I'm just about done with my littlest guy's cards, so I will be sure to share when I am.

In the meanwhile, here is a baby card I made with another Elzybells image - how adorable is this bear holding his duckie under a blanket??!! Love him. And guess what, if you visit again, you'll see that I made a girl version (seriously...don't be shocked). I had fun paper piecing the blanket (it was perfect for that) and the rest of the card, as always, came together pretty easily. Into my card stash it goes... now all I need is for a friend or family member to have a baby LOL!

And speaking of Elzybells - I was actually showcased this past weekend on the Elzybells blog. Mind you, it's not like I was picked or anything - Elizabeth (of Elzybells stamping fame) showcases any cards she receives during the week. And in an effort to get out there more with my cards, I sent a couple to her (she writes on her blogs that she welcomes e-mails of cards using her images so she can see them-which I think is really great of her), but not knowing that she would actually put them on my blog. In any case, I thought it was a fun thing to see my name on someone else's blog...

Stamps: Elzybells and Inky Antics (sentiment); CS: Baja Breeze, Chatterbox (another scrap - I used both sides too), PTI Stampers Select White; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Other: PTI Spring Moss ribbon, twine (maybe SU?), dimensionals, prismas and gamsol, paper snips, SU scallop edge punch, Nesties (both circles and the tag)

Build Me Up, {my Buttercup}...

Love that song - LOL!

I need to build my card stash up for the new year, so it goes without saying that I need to make boy birthday cards (yes, I guess technically saying something goes without saying and then saying it is kinda silly, but oh well). I really do need to make all kinds of cards,But it is always easier for me to default to my go-to and most needed I guess. I've been trying to be better about having cards on hand so I don't have to rush in the 15 minutes before we leave to make one. I hardly have any left, because I actually donated basically all the cards I had on hand over the Christmas holiday, believe it or not. I had never donated cards before - up until now it was all for my use (or for my mom who I sometimes make them for if she needs one).

Our church was asking for donations to make personal bags for a women's home in the area and the items listed include shampoo, conditioner, lotions etc and the last thing listed was cards for all occasions. Lately given everything going on in the economy, I've been much more aware of community service and charity. I've just been trying to be more aware in general because we all know it is so easy to get caught up in our own lives (and I can barely keep up with that sometimes!). This past holiday, we donated items that weren't necessarily the most glamorous things, but were a necessity and necessary to help someone maintain their dignity. We donated diapers and formula to a charity that was helping military families that were in need, and I made up 5 bags for the women's shelter. It's the least we could do. So hopefully my cards (and all the other stuff) will help someone out, even if it saves them a 15 minute trip to the store!

Anyway, I love this little guy who's doing the yo-yo. This image totally reminds me of my oldest guy. He ALWAYS wears his hat backwards - and he wears hats a lot. I can hardly ever get him to wear it facing straight, except for when he's playing baseball (and that's only because the coach tells all the boys to do so). So I colored his hair black like my son's and pretty much used the scrap piece of PP to determine the colors. What you see on the card is basically all that I had left of this whole piece of paper.

Stamps: Elzybells; Paper: Scenic Route (PP), SU Kiwi Kiss (can't get enough of this color), Tempting Turquoise, PTI Stamper's Select, Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Other: Prismas & Gamsol, SU Tab Punch, twine, dimensionals and button

Getting Caught Up in the New Year

Whew! Amazing how quickly time flies when you are not paying attention to your blog - LOL.

I have to thank my stamping bud, Jennifer, for checking in with me. It was just the reminder I needed since has been ages since I had last posted. Once that time of the year and the holidays get started, it seems like in a blink they are done, but obviously LOTS has gone on in between. Between work and the holiday-infused home life (which was so much FUN), I did get a bunch of stamping and scrapping in, but (obviously) no blogging. I've also been running (yep, as in exercising) more. I had actually been running for a bunch of months now, but much better (as in consistent!) since August or so. I ran yesterday and got through a 5K without stopping, so I was soooo excited. I didn't even realize how far I had run until I clocked it with the car this morning. I just added an extra loop through a different part of my neighborhood and it ended up being another 1 mile.

Anyway, I just wanted to get back in the blogging swing of things to post a couple of cards that I made recently. Both use stamps from Elzybells, which I got for the first time ever sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas (they were running a free shipping promotion, so of course I couldn't resist). I had seen all the wonderful cards Paula makes with them and had to give them a whirl. They have such fun images. I bought a bunch of other images and made some cards, so I will have to post them in the future too. I colored both images with Prismas and gamsol (prismas are still experiencing their resurgence even after the holidays). The leaves that I used for the background in the second card is from Cornish Heritage Farms.

Hope that you had a great holiday and that 2009 is off to an AWESOME start.