Pink AGAIN!

Like I mentioned in my last post, I NEVER use pink, especially the fuschia-kind-of-pink. But I saw Dawn's latest color challenge and I still had the other 1/2 of the sheet of Raspberry Fizz sitting on my craft desk, so I figured I'd take on the Lilly Pulitzer challenge (c'mon, you have to admit that a Lilly Pulitzer sweater comes to mind whenever you see bright pink and green together, right?)!

I also jumped on the make-my-own-embellie craze with my new Sizzix die that I just got from SU. I think it turned out ok and really does look like the flower I intended it to be. I even gave my flower leaves by using the largest die to ground it. I think that the card turned out pretty much how I planned it in my head, which is such a bonus to boot.

So thanks for a real challenge this week, Dawn. Now I have to get back to watching the Yankees game, which has been such a topsy turvy game... which seems to be par for the course of this series. Ughhh.

Hello out there!

I've been on vacay (well, actually staycay, since we actually didn't go away anywhere) for the last week, enjoying the last week of summer and getting ready for a new school year. As a result, I've haven't been on the computer too much at all. But I think I'm ready to join the blog land again after my nice break. :) (you need that every once in a while... at least I do!). So I've been catching up on Google Reader and saw that I still had some time for Dawn's latest color challenge. I've fallen a bit behind... but hey, those things happen! ;)

Love these colors - they get me in the mood and mindset for fall! I think it times perfectly, because up until today, the weather has been kinda fall-ish. The mornings and the evenings have been cool, which is a sure sign the fall is around the corner. My littlest guy had 2 playdates that I set up this week at the park, and we had to wear sweatshirts both days (I even wore jeans on Wednesday!). Playdates are rare for my kiddies since they are in school full day and our weekends are chock full of sports, so it was a nice treat for my youngest, who is too small to go on playdates on his own still (he's only 4).

Anyway, back to the cards. I got ambitious and made 2 (yep, count 'em 2) cards for this challenge. These were for 2 birthday parties my kids had this week (love when the challenge works for real-life needs!) I haven't had much time for stamping in the last few weeks and have only made cards that I have needed (vs. just for fun or for challenges). For some reason the first card (the all-star card), made an impression on my oldest kiddo - he said it is his fave card to date (can you believe that... and it's pretty hard to impress a 9-year boy with cards! The second care is a little card - 3x3, which was sized for PTI newest/littlest envies. So cute. I love this size. Plus it is so quick to make a card this size - so little room to fill - LOL.

Well, hope that the end of your summer has been great. My kiddos start back up on Tuesday. They are excited. I just can't believe on another school year is here already... kinda bittersweet, but overall I'm happy. :)

Every Day... (RSCC13 &2S4Y)

So, quick post, then I have to be getting to bed. Way too many late nights in the last few weeks (I'm due for a 9pm early bed time re-charge soon), but I do enjoy down time each night after work, no matter how late my down time starts. On a night like this, I just sit, relax and enjoy the silence while I am making a card or scrapping a page. No music needed at all. I wonder if I am the only one who will trade in much needed sleep just to have an hour or so to myself before turning in for the night...

Back with another Raspberry Suite challenge and this time I combined it with my first try at a 2 Sketches 4 You sketch. I had heard and read about the sketches from perusing all the other blogs, but decided I would try it after seeing Sharon's card (Paperfections) today. Love those apples! So about my card... I had a slightly different take on the sketch since the vertical panel had the sentiment and I didn't want to cover it up. So I just put the oval behind it. But all the pieces are there!

I made this for my husband's cousin's daughter (still following me?) who graduated from high school this year. We couldn't make it to her party (baseball game!), but still want to make sure we send her a congratulations gift.

She's off to college next year. Ahhh to be heading off to college. I remember that time for me like yesterday (even if it has been way longer than that - LOL)... what a wonderful time in my life... my history. Too bad I don't realize it fully at the time (does any 18 year old?). But you know what they say about hindsight... Do you ever wish to go back and do any of your life again? Part of me wishes I could go back, but in the end, I wouldn't change anything I did or really want to go back. My life TODAY is a wonderful gift and I can't imagine not being exactly where I am. So my goal is to work hard to enjoy each day to the fullest, because in the end you never get any of it back anyway...

Ok - that was a random tangent... this was just supposed to be a grad card! Definitely time for me to head to bed! Later.

Back (FINALLY!) with RSCC 12

It's a been a busy last few weeks - where does the time go? Somehow, a day turns into a week in just a blink of an eye. Crazy how it just flies. Anyways... getting back into the stamping swing of things with a challenge and some new goodies. My little obsession with this whole stamping thing really cracks me up sometimes. In the whole scheme of things, it is such a random hobby for me... but I think that's why I love it so... it is sorta the square trying to fit in the circles of my life. Scrapping fits for the most part, since I have kids and lots of pics of them, but making cards... not so much. It would be so much easier and time efficient for me just to buy the cards - I'm always saying that time is flying anyway, but there is a certain something about making them... must be why I am stubborn when I comes to making them and not giving into the more sensible choice. Oh well. Just one of the many thoughts in my brain right now. The other ones being what I'm going to have a for a snack (for some reason, I'm hungry tonight) and my agenda of things to accomplish at work tomorrow...

Soooo, back to my card. Here is for Dawn's latest color challenge. I'm so drawn to doing these. I seriously can't believe how long I've personally been keeping this up (given how my stamping really ebbs and flows depending on the rest of the landscape of my life at the time).

This new PTI button set it fun and I have to say, I've never had a thing for fruit when I comes to stamping, but lately, it seems like I might be wrong about that notion (wouldn't be the first time - LOL).

RSCC #11 - Martini, anyone?

Here's my try this week for Dawn's color challenge.

Not a color combo I would think to put together on my own, but that's why I enjoy doing these. I've been on a streak - I've done a few of these color challenges in a row now (yay!). For some reason I was drawn back to this image, which was a freebie in an eP package sometime ago. I also used a combination of copics and prismas/gamsol to get all the colors in. I like the way this card turned out. Anyway, this will go into my stash of birthday cards for some figure use. Love when I can just come downstairs and find a card and be ready to go! And I think this is a card one of my friends would enjoy receiving.

Hope that you had a great July 4th weekend - I did! Lots of family time in the SUN! I can't believe the weekend is almost over. Busy week ahead, so not sure how much stamping will be going on in the following days, but I know that when I do, it'll be relaxing and very enjoyable. Have a great week ahead! :)

Deets:

Stamps: Rubber Romance; CS: PTI - Raspberry Fizz, Soft Stone; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and VersaMagic - Red Magic; Other: Copics, Prismas and Gamsol, Bitty Dots - New Leaf, SU dimensionals and Kaiser rhinestones

Another color challenge - snail mail

Whew, it's been a little while since I last posted. The last couple of weeks of school coincided with a busy run at work, hence not too much creating until last night. Here is my try at Dawn's latest color challenge. Loved the colors - I don't use coral-ly colors much, but I loved how the combo came together. :) I also love how PTI has matching copics and are starting to create more coloring sets. I like the look of cards created solid stamps, but I also really love to color and the result of those kinds of cards. It gives PTI even that much more versatility to all kinds of stampers and well as diversity so that all their cards don't necessarily have the same type of look.

This is my first time inking up this fun new PTI set, and I actually have a couple of ideas swirling around, so I am going to have to give them a whirl the next time I sit down at my craft desk. Hope your week is less soggy than ours. I think there is a rain cloud just parked long-term over NJ...

Deets: Stamps - PTI Vintage Picnic; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; CS - PTI Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, Cream & Bitty Dots, SU Chocolate Chip; Other: PTI buttons!!, SU Ribbon, dimensionals

RSCC #8 - You Deserve it! :)

Couldn't let the weekend pass without trying Dawn's latest color challenge. I think the deadline is tonight, so I might even be on time - bonus! :) Anyway, I decided to use the colors and make a thank you card to give to one of the boys' teachers. The end of the school is coming up quickly (how did that happen?), and I need to get on our thank yous. I thought that this pair of sentiments is perfect for any teacher at the end of the school year....

We had a fun weekend - the weather was amazing - it felt like summer both days (then again it IS summer - LOL). It was great all the same.

Can't believe another work week is set to start. No travelling this week, except for a lunch in the city, and I got a couple of big deadlines (and successfully I might add!) behind me last week, so hopefully there will be a moment to create during the week. Even though I'd love to been bit more consistent in my crafting, I am thankful for the time I have (makes me enjoy it more, kwim?), and even more so for having a career that keeps me as busy as it does. NO complaints here. It's a hobby afterall. ;)

Have a great week. Hope to check in soon.

Deets:
Stamps: PTI - A Day at the Beach; CS: PTI Cream and Kraft: Ink: SU Pink Passion, Cream, Memento Rich Cocoa, Adirondack Latte (serves as a great Kraft colored ink!); Other: Targe $1 ribbon, dimensionals