April SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the April SOTM blog hop.  If you came here from Carol's blog you're on the right track.

This month's stamp set is Flower Pot and it contains 16 great stamps!  If you love to color, this is the stamp set for you.  You can play with your favorite coloring techniques - chalks, colored pencils, watercolors, markers....  Be sure to order your set, stamp a few images and relax while you pretend you're a kid again.

First I created this great gift bag.  I used a saying from the set on the tag....And it's a sneak peek at just one of the Flower Power techniques I'll be sharing at my April Workshop!!  (Flower on the bottom right of the bag.)

Next up is Wishes #15 Bullseye

Supplies Used:
X5809 Veranda Creative Basics
X7119B Veranda Level 2 Paper Pack
Ink: Cocoa, Tulip, Garden Green
Markers: Buttercup, Garden Green and Sweet Leaf
Z1131Creme Brulee Ribbon
C1234 Simple Stitches Stamp Set
Waterbrush


Now it's time to check out  Wanda's blog to see what she has created.

CTMH Wishes Project #14 Enchanting Enclosure

This fun card features a belly band that slides off so you can open the card.

Rubber stamping tips:

• I curved a straight stamp in the set on my block so that I could stamp it around the edge of the circle...and then I hid the area where the circle didn't meet with the star.
• It's a little difficult to see in the picture but I "rolled" the stars in two different inks.  I started with Sunflower ink and then rolled a portion of the star in goldrush.  One of my favorite techniques to use with shades of yellow because it really gives it some depth!

Supplies Used:
You Rock Workshop on the Go Kit (stamp set and brads are in the kit)
Inks: Outdoor Denim, Olive, Sunflower, Goldrush

CTMH Wishes #13 - Merry Go Round

We've been spoiled with some beautiful summer like weather here in San Diego, but rumor has it that rain is headed our way tomorrow....which makes my card so fitting!!  I made this last week when there wasn't a rain drop in sight...

Stamp Set: D1415 Springtime
I love this set!!  It's stamps beautifully and there are several different umbrellas to choose from. 

Stamping Technique:  I used liquid glass to really make the raindrops pop and look wet.  I also used it on the handle because I was thinking of those shiny plastic umbrellas from my childhood.

Wishes #13 Circle Collection

This card is just one of the many reasons I am sooo glad that I am doing this project.  I can't tell you how many times I have skipped over this design because I just wasn't inspired by the sample pictured in the book.  It just wasn't my thing.... But since I'm on a "mission" I had to do it and I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

Update: Thankful Thursdays.. Ooops... I've missed two in a row.  Bad Blogger!!  I'm having "blogging" issues...namely... I keep losing my stinkin media cards. LOL.  I don't know what the problem is.  I find one and then lose the other.  Of course whichever one is in my possession is never the one that has the pictures I need.  My goal is to locate both cards (camera and video camera) this weekend and get all the stuff I have photographed and video'd uploaded so I can get back on track.  Wish me luck!

Workshop - My Creations Memory Showcase

It's finally here!  Ever since I created the Christmas present for my inlaws using the 9x9 My Creations Memory Showcase, I've had people requesting a workshop to create their own... well I finally sat down and created it. Woo Hoo!

Here are a couple of sneak peeks...of course you'll get full instructions and get to see the whole thing when you order the workshop!

I plan to offer a couple of different days/times.  My first one is scheduled for this Friday, March 26th at 7:00pm.  Email me right away to reserve your spot. Fee is $15

Kit Contents:
9x9 My Creations Memory Showcase
Pre-cut papers to decorate all 8 surfaces
Little baggie with an assortment of photo corners and other embellishments to decorate your album

Take this workshop at my home and you can use my stamp set to decorate your album.  Ordering this to go?  I used the stamp set in the Veranda Workshop on the Go kit.  You can order your own WOTG kit and use the stamp set, or embellish with a different set.

It's Spring in Southern California!

The calendar might say that spring is a few more days away, but spring has sprung in San Diego and it is absolutely beautiful!!  While I'm not so happy that my early morning walks are in the dark again, grrr, I am quite happy that it's sunny and gorgeous after work and you know what that means......

It's Bike Riding time!! Woo Hoo!!  A few little medical issues, road construction and a change in schedules kind of put a crimp in my bike commute so I have been driving.  But now that the time has changed and I am healthy, we can plan little bike rides after work at Lake Murray and Mission Trails.  (Everyone is welcome.  Email me and I'll add you to the email list with the details.)

And you know what's even better?  I have successfully infected the whole family with the cycling bug!  Hubby used his safety bonus to buy this for his truck

And while there was a misshap that included a bloody nose, it sounds like mostly he's suffering from a sore rear end.  Hey, that means he's actually riding it!! 

And then Joshua and Breanna bought bikes... Yep, my house is beginning to look like a bike shop.  We don't really need furniture, do we?

And best of all....this is what I'm doing for my birthday!!!! Red Rock Scenic Byway Tour in Sedona, AZ  I am sooo excited.  Let's just hope it isn't too hot when we get there.

Thankful Thursday -

Wow, that week just flew by!  I can hardly believe it's Thursday again.  I thought I picked Thursdays because of the awesome alliteration that Thankful Thursday provides, but me thinks that in the back of my mind, I might have remembered that hubby gets paid on Thursdays....hmm....

I probably should've made a card or something lovely last night, but I watched a movie with Breanna and Joshua instead.  I am really super Thankful that they enjoy hanging out with me and invite me to watch movies with them and that's way better than any card I could have made...

But don't worry, I have a plan...I will take a picture at lunch and add it right here....

It is absolutely gorgeous in San Diego today, don't you agree?  Whenever I need some inspiration or I'm feeling blue, I head outdoors.  The sound of the ocean, the smell of pine trees, wet pavement, fresh cut grass, blooming jasmine, baby birds....  all of it kind of helps me forget the 10 million things running around in my head and frees up some space for inspiration.  I get my best ideas when I'm outside...

So this week I want to know... What inspires you?  Leave me a comment by Sunday and I'll pick a winner!

CTMH - St. Patty's Workshop Samples

 Here are a couple of the cards I featured at my St. Patty's Workshop on Saturday. Both cards are the same except for the background. 

Supplies Used:
X7105B Emporium Level 2 Paper Pack (Pattern paper on the band)
1244 Garden Green and 1276 Ponderosa Pine Cardstock
Z2120 Garden Green and Z2145 Ponderosa Ink
Z293 Photo Hangers
Ribbon is Close To My Heart.  I think it was Sweet Leaf from a Creative Basics package.


And Now for the Winner, Winner, Winner  from Last Week's Thankful Thursday...

Anonymous - Rian!!  You have a package of bitty sparkles with your name on it!

Thank you to everyone who played along.  I loved reading all of your responses!!!

CTMH My Creations Cube - Veranda Sneak Peek

In April I'm featuring the Veranda paper pack and Veranda Workshop on the Go (WOTG) at my workshops and gatherings, so I'm busily creating fun stuff to share... I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek.  Be sure to come to my crop/workshop next Saturday to see more. (Plus they look better live and in person!)

This features Close To My Heart's My Creation Cube.  It ships flat.  There are several samples featured in the Idea Book, but each one of those shows the cube assembled and held together with ribbon or jute.  The cube comes with pre-drilled holes in all the corners so that all you have to do is lace it together.

I wasn't loving the laced together look for my project so I glued mine together with Liquid Glass.  I love it when you can change and adapt something to make it work the way you want to. 

The adorable picture is my son and his girlfriend. Ahhh.....

Rubber Stamping Tip - Multi-Colored Bird

1. Ink the bird in Creme Brulee
2. Roll the tips of the wings and the head in Tulip.
3. Stamp bird on Colonial White paper
4. Trim around bird with scissors.
5. Using a sponge dauber, sponge a little juniper on his belly

Here's another little design tip for you.  Notice that I stamped the bird next to the saying in solid Juniper?  I could've used the multi-colored technique there as well.  It will give your projects more depth and character if you follow nature... Out in the wild you'll see all different colors of birds...

Supplies Used:
Z1152 My Creations Cube
X7119B Veranda Paper Pack
Z1269 Filigree Charms
Inks: Juniper, Creme Brulee, Tulip, Cocoa
Stamp set is in the G1007 Veranda WOTG kit
(Please note, the kit includes the paper, so if you decide to order it, you do not need to order the paper pack listed above.)

Thankful Thursday FREE Bitty Sparkles

Today I'm starting a new feature on my blog called "Thankful Thursdays."  Sometimes I'll post a Thank You card, sometimes I'll write a post about gratitude and sometimes....like today... I'll share some Close To My Heart love with a give away!! 

How would you like to receive some free Bitty Sparkles?  Bitty Sparkles have become my new goto embellishment.  They are inexpensive and yet they add instant bling to your creations. 

• Sprinkle a few around your layout. 
• Add one to the center of a flower. 
• Create a border by lining them up. 
• Use them as the dot on a lower case i.....

All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me one thing you are grateful for today.  Don't worry about making it something profound!!  You have until Sunday, March 7th to enter.  On Monday I will randomly pick one commenter to receive a package of Bitty Sparkles.

Today I am thankful for my new bluetooth earphone.  Woo Hoo!  May sound silly, but hubby always calls to chat when I'm running around trying to get things done.  Being hands free means that I can enjoy talking to him more.

So tell me... what are you thankful for today?

It's on the way and a new video!

There it is... my application to teach at Extravaganza at the Close To My Heart convention in Washington DC (July 2010). 

I've been lucky enough to be chosen to teach many times in the past, but every time I apply I get nervous and this year...is the worst!  They are only choosing 32 teachers and there are soooo many incredibly talented people who have applied.  I don't envy those who have to choose! 

And now here's my shoutout for FedEx Ground!!  I took this box to the post office and they were going to charge me $23 to mail it!!!!!  The issue was the size, not the weight.  Sorry, but I'd rather pay $23 for a service that tracks my package so I headed off to FedEx and my little ole package cost $8.64 to mail, will get there in two days AND gets tracked the whole way. 

I love the post office for mailing my cards, but I think I'll be sticking with FedEx for my packages.  Hmmm... I wonder how much it would cost to mail catalogs that way.  I may have to check on that!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the items in the box.  I was so stinkin proud of a little technique I made up while creating the layout, that I decided to make a video about it.  Please watch the video and rate it if you have a youtube account. (Thanks!)

Rubber Stamping Tips - Snow Topped Letters