Maria's wedding

This is the summer of weddings for my friends' kids. Maria used to babysit for us and it's hard to imagine that she's getting married this weekend. I designed this card using the wedding announcement colors, which were gorgeous.

• Stamps: Timeworn Trim fleur-de-lis, Wedding Elegance, and Linen background
• Paper: Confetti White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive cardstock by Stampin' Up!
• Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: brads, ribbon

Congratulations to Maria and Joel. I love when a photo is added to the wedding announcement, as they did. I hid the wedding details with their picture, so you can see the colors and the beautiful couple. The inside sentiment says: "Congratulations to the two of you for choosing the perfect one."

Scrapbook Trends workshop

For a bit of inspiration, I went to a scrapbook trends workshop at the local scrapbook store (on the same evening that I spotted my nephew's work in Old Navy) on Wednesday. That night, I created two pages and had some pictures of Brendan in my purse from about two years ago, so I ended up using them with the two 12" x 12" pages I created. They're "floraly" and not very little boyish, but the colors still look great with the pages, so I didn't mind. I rarely scrapbook, so this class was enjoyable to get a few pointers. I stamped and embossed the red swirls, but don't know the company they are from, but can tell you that they're acrylic. I'll list a few of the supplies I used in case you're interested.

• Paper: Spoiled Brat, Lip Gloss orange, pink and blue Bazzill Bling cardstock, Basic Grey Hippie, Collico patterned paper



• Supplies: Crop-A-Dile, Die Cuts with a View Rub-on Stitches, Hero Art Gemstones, Glossy Accents, chipboard

B. I. G. ads in Old Navy

This has nothing to do with card making, but is an ad currently in Old Navy stores, featuring my nephew, Brendan, whose initials are B. I. G. What a cutie, huh? (My nephew is the one in the green shirt, by the way, as they're both rather handsome little boys.)

Happy anniversary Bobbi & Sherm

This is for my friend, Bobbi, and her husband, Sherm, who just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary! Woohoo! Congratulations to the happy couple.

• Paper: Loves Me DP, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise
• Ink: Regal Rose
• Stamp: In the Spotlight
• Punches: Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" circle, 1-3/8" circle, 1-inch circle
• Accessories: Ric Rac, Nylon Twine, clear word stickers

Two weddings in a week

Paul and his sweetheart are engaged to be married on Friday, so tonight I put this together as I came across a bag of red hearts that I had cut out about two V-days ago for my son's Valentines at school. I can't believe I kept them. Rather than tossing them, I just started attaching them to the white paper, then kept adding things. The inside says "happily ever after."

• Paper: Brocade Blue, Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White cardstock by Stampin' Up!
• Ink: Basic Black
• Stamp: Sweet Shapes
• Punches: Folk Heart, Corner Slot Wrought Iron, Rectangle Handheld
• Accessories: Misc. ribbons, all from SU except black dots, from Hobby Lobby, sewing machine stitching

Merideth's wedding

Isn't it fun to get wedding announcements in the mail? I love receiving good mail and was delighted when I received Merideth and Daniel's formal "love letter" recently. The elegant announcement and invitation was white with a dry embossed "double door" opening, wrapped with a satin bow in a soft blue {slightly aqua} colored ribbon and was so beautiful. Using some of my Loves Me patterned papers which were on my desk from Lindsey's birthday party invitations, I created this card for the soon-to-be newlyweds. Unlike the wedding announcement, these papers aren't very formal, but I felt that this whimsical young design matches Merideth's fun and cheerful personality. Best wishes to the new happy couple!

Sweet 16 party invitations

My daughter is turning 16 next week and I designed these invitations for her birthday party. I made a sample one without disclosing personal information to post here to show. My inspiration came from Cambria's cute Halloween card using a similar layout.

• Paper: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Loves Me Designer Paper by Stampin' Up!
• Ink: Computer generated
• Tools/Accessories: Round Tab Punch, 1-inch, 1 1/4-inch, and Scallop Circle Punches, Foof-a-La brand clear Bag-O-Buttons from Archiver's, Turquoise Gingham Ribbon sent to me from Keri in Missouri, white nylon twine from Alberton's

Happiness, continued

This is one of those cards that looks much better in real life, and my photography doesn't do it justice. The colors look really nice together in person. Again, I've tried out a brand new punch, this photo corner punch. Stampin' Up! has the best punches and I highly recommend them to anyone who likes to make cards or scrapbook.

• Paper: Soft Sky (brand new from Stampin' Up!), Taken with Teal, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
• Ink: Regal Rose, Whisper White, Taken with Teal Stampin' Write marker
• Stamps: Happiness background stamp, All in a Row
• Tools/Accessories: Ric Rac, Spiral Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Creative License to Think Happy Thoughts

This fun layout really stood out by zoeyjack2 from SCS, so I wanted to create my own using the new Simply Scrappin' Creative License set with the rich warm colors and attractive patterns and textures.

• Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi, Creative License
• Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie
• Tools: 1 1/4", 1 3/8", and Scallop Circle Punches
• Accessories: Soft Sky Double Stitch Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Brad
• Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts

Happiness in Red

So I have my new Happiness background stamp and am playing around with it for the first time, and this is what I came up with so far. I also used my scallop punch for the first time and love it.

• Stamps: Carte Postale, Happiness
• Paper: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White, Old Olive
• Ink: Real Red, VersaMark
• Tools: Scallop, Spiral, 1 1/4-inch Circle Punch, Cutter Kit
• Accessories: Red Gingham, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Birthday, Thomas!

It's my nephew's birthday today. This card was inspired by a similar version to Jen Bamberg's. This was my first time using Stickles, and I'm hooked. The second and third versions I did look even better.

• Paper: Apricot Appeal, Ballet Blue, Only Orange, Black, Whisper White cardstock by Stampin' Up!
• Ink: Only Orange stamp pad, Stazon Jet Black; Apricot Appeal, Only Orange Stampin' Write markers; Ballet Blue ink refill with Aquapainter, and also Diamond Stickles
• Stamps: Send a Celebration, Snow Flurries by Stampin' Up!

Gee, thanks!

Tonight I'm cleaning my desk and just put together some scraps and concocted this random mixture. I'm not going to bother saying what any of it is, but that I love the SPIRAL PUNCH and have not used it until now. It's such a cool invention. And of course, the adorable gingham turquoise ribbon sent to me with kindness from SCS Inkyhugs, Keri, from Missouri! Thank you! Or shall I say "Gee, thanks?" from the All Around Argyle set.

Aunt Gertie's Garden Butterfly

Life has given me many reasons to smile as this sentiment suggests. I love this recently retired Stampin' Up! hostess set and have paired it with patterned papers titled Aunt Gertie's Garden by s.e.i. It's a quickie card for any occasion. T.G.I.F!

Jessica's new baby Makayla

My sweet friend, Jessica, just became a mommy for the first time yesterday afternoon to a 7 lb. 4 oz. baby girl named Makayla, who was born with a small opening in her back and will undergo surgery on Independence Day, today. Jessica and her husband have been preparing mentally for their baby who was diagnosed in utero with spina bifida. Jessica's incredible strength and calmness, and enormous love for her daughter, even before her birth has been amazing to me. Little Makayla was transported by ambulance to another hospital while her mom is under care on the other side of town. I plan to visit Jessica today and wanted to make an extra special card for her and this feminine, girly-colored floral design is what I came up with. Please think of their family and remember them in your prayers.

• Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Pink Passion cardstock from Stampin Up, Anna Griffin patterned papers from Archiver's, Heidi Swapp retro photo corners from Hobby Lobby
• Stamps: Baroque Motifs, sentiment from http://www.stampingsensations.com/
• Ink: Jet Black Stazon
• Tools/accessories: ribbon from Hobby Lobby, gemstone from Hobby Lobby, Stampin' Dimensionals, slit punch from Stampin' Up to create scallop border
  

Blooming gift wrap card

Gift bags are not as exciting to me as gifts that are wrapped in a box, so I RARELY buy gift bags, and am a big fan of gift wrap by the roll. When I find cute prints of gift wrap, especially when its on clearance, I like to stock up on it, and add it to my gift wrap stash. I bought this gorgeous floral print gift wrap from Old Navy a few months back and have gotten fantastic reviews from those who have received it or seen it. I love the red, green, blue, and creamy background. I decided to make some coordinating cards to use with this particular gift wrap and plan to make a few so can have it ready to go when I need it.

Card details:

• Paper: Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive CS from Stampin' Up, and floral print gift wrap from Old Navy
• Stamp: Blooming with Happiness
• Ink: Real Red
• Tools/accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals, unknown twill ribbon

Americana bookmarks

These "stampy" Americana bookmarks were fun and relatively simple to mass produce. I made 70 of them to pass out after my lesson at church (in Relief Society) today as a reminder of the significance of the hymns and how they can uplift our spirits. Our closing hymn, with Independence Day approaching, was Battle Hymn of the Republic, which is why I created something with a patriotic theme. I'll post the details later tonight after I have my Sunday afternoon nap. The women in our RS seemed to have appreciated these. I always like to make a little handout when it's my turn to teach, which is fortunately only about once a quarter.