Pretty in Pink

It's the 17th. That means it's time for the monthly Lizzie Anne design team challenge. Today we're working with this photo for inspiration. And what a pretty picture it is! This is what stood out in my mind. The soft pink, green, and brown colors. The flowers. And the overall "prettiness". So, here's what I came up with.
Lots of "pretty" elements, starting with this swirly, old fashioned sentiment from Vintage Verses. I used some very pale pink Copic markers to highlight the clock, then edged the die cut with a couple of brown inks. More "pretty" came from the plethora of mixed Prima flowers, scalloped edges, shiny swirls and polka dot embossed green strip.

What's In It?

Stamps- Vintage Verses (Lizzie Anne Designs)

Paper- blush blossom, celery, chocolate, vanilla (SU)

Ink- rich cocoa (memento), vintage tea dye duo (PTI)

Other- brown brads, Prima flowers crystal swirls, fillable frames #3 die (PTI), scalloped edge punch (EK Success), swiss dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Copic markers, glue dots and foam adhesive

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out what the other design team girls were inspired to create:

Tricia (Lizzie) - Meridith (Anne) - Joslyn - Deb - Wendy - Taylor - Kendra - Jeni - Jeanne

Keep on Swimming

Hi! Just popping in for a quickie today. This card uses the Merry Marine stamp set and some older Basic Grey blue paper, Lollipop Shoppe. The grid paper is Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday line. I punched three layers of the blue paper with my circle punch to create the waves, then rubbed the edges along a white ink pad so it looks like the frothy sea. The cute sub is colored with Copics, and I added Glossy Accents to the windows.

The baby shower is this weekend, and I really want the nursery done before then. So this week I'll be touching up paint and assembling the crib and night stand. Hopefully the dresser (pre-assembled, yay!) will arrive soon. It's on back order, so it may not be here 'til shortly after the shower. I can't wait to add all the cute baby things now! I'll have pictures soon.

Glitzy Flower

I just love yellow and red and haven't done a card in those colors for ages, so...voila. And, it's not a baby card, as promised!

I stamped the flower from Hello Friend three times and cut them into different sized pieces for layering, so my flower has lots of dimension. I also lined the petals and leaves with a glitter pen, very pretty in real life.

What's In It?
Stamps- Hello Friend (LAD)
Paper- banana, real red, celery, kraft (SU)
Ink- rich cocoa (Memento)
Other- AC ribbon, label 4 nestie, sakura glitter pen, pearl cluster, dimensionals

Be a Mix Member for a Day

I know it's a little late, but I've been REALLY busy today. We just finished painting the nursery~ green on the bottom, cream on the top and now I have to run as we're late for a picnic. Buuuuuutttttt.... I wanted to let you know, straight from the Lizzie Anne Blog:

"Hey Lizzie Anne Fans... we have an exciting promotion going on TODAY ONLY! We are listing four of our Monthly Mix sets at the club price of $25.00 on our website today (Saturday, May 22nd!) If you aren't a Mix Member and you would like to try out our stamp sets before deciding to join the club, now is your chance! The following stamp sets are $25.00 today:

It's Good to Be Queen
Singing in the Rain
Celebrate
Christmas Wishes

The retail price for these sets is $39.99 so get them today while you can... we know you'll love our Mix sets. They are a tremendous value.

Also, when you sign up for the club you can choose an additional Mix set for only $10.00! This is 75% off the retail cost. For more information, visit the Monthly Mix Club page!"

Go to the blog for all the links. Yes, I'm running THAT late. Sorry. But I didn't want you to miss out on this opportunity. Eek, Josh is calling up the stairs for me.

Doggone Best Tag

It's the 17th of the month and that means it's also Lizzie Anne design team challenge day! This month's challenge is to design or decorate your own packaging. I found that so often, the gift itself is pretty enough to just about stand on it's own. All you need to add is some nice ribbon and a creative over sized gift tag. So that's what I've done here.

My in-laws dog sat for us while we spent last weekend at Niagara Falls, so we picked up a little thank you. It's a sampler pack of mini ice wines. If you've never tried these, I really like them. Very sweet, and definitely a dessert wine, but so yummy. They make it from the grapes that have frozen on the vine, turning them sugary.

Sorry for that little sidetrack. Now, back to this cute tag. Isn't it so perfect for a dog sitting thank you? I cut the pattern paper with my largest blossom nestie. Then cut the ruby red circle layer, as well as the top white layer. I stamped the dog and sentiment from Playful Pals with tuxedo black Memento ink so I could color it all with Copic markers, including a grassy hill I just drew in directly with the green markers. Afterwards, I added the puffy clouds with white ink and a q-tip. I added a little loop of ribbon between the patterned and red layers so it would be all ready for hanging.

Here, you can see how I used the same ribbon to tie up the box and hung the tag by it's loop with a bit of copper cording. I'll add a brief message to the back, and my little thank you gift is all ready for presentation.

What's In It?
Stamps- Playful Pals (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- white (PTI), rose red (SU), offbeat (BG)
Ink- tuxedo black (memento), white (PTI)
Other- Copics, blossom and circle nesties, kiwi ribbon and copper cording (SU), dimensionals

Be sure to stop by the Lizzie Anne Designs blog and see what creative packaging the rest of the design team can inspire you to create.

Bird Song

So, I promised you something more on the clean and simple side today, and I'm delivering! Today is the reveal for Lizzie Anne Design's June Monthly Mix, Life is Good. It will be mailing out to mix members starting June 1. Check out how to get in on this great deal and see the entire set, here.

I used this sweet little song bird, stamped on kraft card stock and colored with a few Copic markers. The stamp has just the one music note, so I re-inked that one note and stamped it a couple more times to get the music trailing off the top of the panel. Then I drew the double border with a pen ruler.

Stop by the Lizzie Anne blog to see a whole list of design team members who are also showcasing Life is Good on their blogs today, as well as a few customers who are getting in on the action showcasing the Mix of their choice.

What's In It?
Stamps- Life is Good (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- kraft, spring rain (PTI)
Ink- tuxedo black (Memento)
Other- Copic markers, EK Success border punch, American Crafts ribbon, dimensionals

Little Baby Birds

I think these little birds are just the cutest and couldn't wait to ink them up. And now I'm just thrilled with how they work with that notebook paper stamp.

After stamping the paper, I added the little pink vertical line with a ruler and marker, just to give it a bit more of a realistic look. Then I added the sentiment. The birds, moon, and star got stamped on watercolor paper, then cut out individually. I also stamped them on the notebook paper so I didn't have to try to cut out the bird legs and the string on the star. I glued the moon and star (covered in star dust stickles) down flat, and adhered the birds with dimensionals. I added gemstones to my buttons and finished with a border punch blue strip, ribbon and machine stitching around the edges.

What's In It?
Stamps- Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- My Mind's Eye, caribbean, banana (SU), white (PTI), watercolor
Ink- pumpkin, caribbean, apricot, saffron, pretty in pink marker (SU), onyx black VersaFine
Other- EK Success border punch, MAMBI gemstones, Dashes Dots & Checks ribbon, star dust Stickles, thread, sewing machine, dimensionals, buttons, water color brush

I went for another ultrasound this morning and things are looking good. Josh has decided that the baby has his nose, and I have to agree. It's so cute. We also got a definite on the sex. It's a girl! So now I'm going to order my furniture and pick out the paint colors. Things are moving right along. I don't figure on having the nursery all ready for a couple of months, but when I do, I'll be sure to share pics. HUGS to you all.

Precious Baby Bee

Hello! How was your weekend? Josh and I made a little three day getaway to Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. We almost cancelled because the weather was going to be bad, but decided we could use the relaxation as much as we would have enjoyed a busier weekend. It's just a little over a four hour drive, but such a beautiful place to be. And would you believe I forgot my camera? But I'm sure you've all seen pictures of Niagara Falls before anyway. We did manage to squeeze in the Cave of the Winds tour and a morning shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake between rain drops...and snow flurries!

On to the card. This cutie is from Lizzie Anne's new Great Expectations sixlet set. (Just $11.99. How awesome is that?!) I cut the card 3.5 x 5.5 inches so I'd have room to hang the flower off the edge and still fit the card in a regular envelope. Besides, I think this is the cutest size card anyway. I embossed the card front with a Cuttlebug folder. I had to run in through twice to get a fully embossed front. Then I just used a stylus on a soft surface (my paper piercing foam mat) to finish off any circles that only got half embossed. That way there's no seam. Make sense? The flower is a Spellbinders blossom die, with a circle die cut in the center. I colored my bee with Copic markers and Stardust Stickles and added a bling swirl from Prima. And it's all ready for a new little someone! Papers are SU's barely banana, pixie pink, and cool caribbean.

Chalkboard Butterflies

Doesn't all of that white stamping on black remind you of chalk on a blackboard? I did it all with detail white embossing powder so it would be nice and crisp. I can't remember the last time I used so much black on a card, but I'm pretty tickled with how it turned out. I echoed the three big curves with dots of black Stickles and tied on a big, happy yellow bow. What's In It?

Stamps- Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)

Paper- white (PTI), black (SU), Hello Sunshine (Cosmo Cricket)

Ink- versamark

Other- curve punch (EK Success), black diamond Stickles, organdy ribbon, dimensionals

Bridal Shower

I had a bridal shower to go to this past Saturday, and of course I waited 'til the last minute to make a card. I figured on just using one from "my stash", but then I couldn't stand not having one that matched the brown and green swirled gift bag. So Saturday morning saw me throwing this together quickly before heading out the door. Fortunately it came together pretty easily.

I printed the sentiment from my computer, being sure to leave enough room to stamp the cake (Lizzie Anne's Dream Big) above, which I did using Memento rich cocoa ink, and colored with a bit of green and gray Copics. I layered it on celery, then chocolate chip with a punched border. The background, I ran the edges along my brown ink pad before embossing with the birds and swirls cuttlebug folder. The greens of the flower, cake and butterflies really do match much better in real life, I promise. I wished I had snapped a pic of the inside too. It looks so pretty with matching wedding rings in green overlapping the matching sentiment. I love having something to stamp on the inside of my cards. That way I don't have to come up with something to say myself. I can just sign my name.

BABY:
I've had a few questions about how the baby is doing, so if you're interested...Things are going quite well. I can't complain other than the typical heartburn and back pain type things. And, well, I guess that's just par for the course. There's lots of movement going on in there which is exciting and reassuring. The ultrasound technician couldn't be sure if it's a girl or a boy, but she said "probably" a girl. I go back for another in a couple of weeks or so, so maybe we'll get a better view. I haven't bought any of my nursery furniture or decor yet, but I have it all picked out. We just went to look at paint this morning before Josh had to head out to work. I'll be sure to share a photo in a couple of months when it's all put together. Thanks for asking!

New Stamps!

Yay! Lizzie Anne Designs is releasing EIGHT new sixlet stamp sets today. These sets each contain six cling mounted rubber stamps and sell for only $11.99. What an awesome deal. And now I have a little eye candy for you. And I didn't even get a chance to use my very favorite set yet. So just you wait.

This first card uses Brilliant Blooms and I started with a sketch from page 9 of the new Go-To Sketches magazine. I plan on getting my full use out of that great publication, so be ready to see more of their sketches in the near future. I stamped the stem and flower on the right, then stamped the flower on the left. I very lightly drew in the remaining stem, and after coloring with Copic markers and giving it a few seconds to dry, I went over the pencil marks with a dark brown marker. I cut out a couple of extra flowers so that I could pop up the flower/stem combo once, and just the flowers a second time for lots of dimension.


For this second card, I started with a label die cut from My Mind's Eye paper, added a couple of swirls (love those things) from the previously released Fanciful Flourishes, and layered my sentiment on with dimensionals. That gorgeous sentiment is just one of six in the new Vintage Verses set. Be sure to check out all the others. I can never have too many sentiments. I really like putting together cards with no images, and these work perfectly for that. I used my paper piercing template and a brown marker to dot the frame around my die cut, and I mixed turquoise and clear glitter (to tone it down just a bit) and sprinkled on a strip of tacky tape for the glitzy embellishment on the bottom.

What's In It?

Purple Blooms Card
Stamps- Brilliant Blooms (LAD)
Paper- PTI and MME
Ink- Memento, dark marker
ribbon, button- PTI
rub on- crate paper
other- red line tape, pop dots, thread, pearls, corner rounder

Good is Beautiful card
Stamps- vintage verses (LAD)
Paper- Georgia Pacific, MME
Ink pad, marker, piercing template- SU
ribbon, button- PTI
labels 4 die- spellbinders
pop dots, thread

You can see all the new releases on the Lizzie Anne website, under new releases, and check out the eye candy from the rest of the design team girls, too. Links are on the right. Have a great weekend!

Make Life Big

Hello! Just popping in briefly to share a card I made last week using Fall-To Layout #85.

What's In It?
Stamps- May Monthly Mix Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- caribbean, melon, teal, pumpkin, kraft, vanilla (SU), My Mind's Eye
Ink- rich cocoa (Memento)
Other- SU border punch and beautiful wings embosslit, PTI moss ribbon and twine, MAMBI gems, button, Copics

Thinking Out of the Box

I'm ususally pretty literal with my stamps, so I really had to put my thinking cap on when Tricia (Lizzie) announced this month's design team challenge: to use a stamp other than for its intended purpose.

I came up with using this circle sentiment and making it work double duty as some sunshine as well. I think it turned out pretty cute with a colorful kite and a blue sky background. All three stamps, the third being "you made my day", come from the newly revealed May Monthly Mix, Dream Big. The set will start to ship on out May 1, so you still have plenty of time to get it at the discounted club rate. I know the girls are working on the website this weekend, so you may need to stop back, if you can't get past the homepage. Trust me, this set is well worth it!

Now, don't miss what creative ideas all the other Lizzie Anne girls have thought up for this challenge as well. Links to all the blogs are listed over there ------> on the right under Lizzie Anne Designs.

What's In It?
Stamps- May Monthly Mix Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- vanilla, red, pumpkin, summer sun (SU), white (PTI), Earth Love (Cosmo)
Ink- pumpkin (SU), black (Memento)
Other- circle punch, photo corner punch (SU), Copic markers, PTI buttons, wavy scissors, glue dots, pop dots

Dream Big

"Dream big and reach high". I love that sentiment all the more so when paired with these great little hot air balloons from Lizzie Anne's new May Monthly Mix set, Dream Big.

I used this week's CPS sketch, and stamped each balloon individually in different vibrant colors. I also stamped the little balloon on scrap pieces, cut out and cover with Glossy Accents to use as embellishments. I doodles the frame and added just a few gemstones to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you again tomorrow with Lizzie Anne's design team challenge. It's a good one!

What's In It?
Stamps- May Monthly Mix Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- pink passion, caribbean, olive, white (SU), Greenhouse (K & Co)
Ink- same as above and chocolate chip
Other- glossy accents, gemstones, pop dots

Soap Gift Packaging

One day I was browsing through Pier One and found some great little soaps (sized about 2 inches by 3 inches) on clearance, and now I finally found something to do with them. And it's such a quick and easy "something".

I stacked two soaps together and wrapped them with green paper first, then a slightly smaller patterned paper from Basic Grey. I topped that off with the strip of pink paper, stamped on each side with "thanks for everything", from the April Mix, It's Good to Be Queen. Then I finished it off with a pretty tag (a Spellbinders Labels Four die cut), featuring these modish trees, also from the April Mix, and a nice fluffy organdy bow.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some stamping inspiration today, too.

What's In It?
Stamps- It's Good to be Queen (LAD)
Paper- green, pink, Basic Grey Eva, PTI white
Ink- memento black
Other- Spellbinders Labels 4 die, Copic markers, ribbon, pink eyelet

Bright, Sunny Days

With the beautiful weather we've been enjoying, I haven't been doing too much stamping. I did find time for this bright and happy card though. It reminds me of our bright, sunny days. I cut a mask with scalloped scissors, then used it to ink the clouds. I need a little practice with this technique, but it is very cool. The bike and sentiment ("The road to a friends house is never long.") are from the April Monthly Mix set, It's Good to be Queen.

What's In It?
Stamps- It's Good to be Queen (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- white, pink passion, summer sun, Ooh La La (MME)
Ink- soft sky, pink passion, not quite navy
Other- ribbon, Martha butterfly punch, scalloped scissors, sponge, PTI button, thread

Birdie Mom

I sat down with no particular card in mind, but I did want to use this really cute Mom stamp from Queen for a Day. And I also wanted to use my bird on a branch punch that has gone unloved since it arrived. Now that I'm done, I think it could be for "your mom" obviously, but wouldn't it also be cute for a new mom? I just love how it turned out with some of my favorite papers, colors, and yummy polka dots.

What's In It?
Stamps- Queen for a Day (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- white (PTI), old olive (SU), Ooh La La for Her (MME)
Ink- black Memento, saffron SU
Other- SU bird punch, AC ribbon, Labels 4 die, sponge, dimensionals, Taylors tiny twinkles, PTI holiday mix buttons, thread, needle, sewing machine, copics

I'm sorry that I forgot to get back to you about last week's ultrasound. It was Friday afternoon, and baby is doing just fine, thank goodness. Of course, I got no definite answer on the age old boy/girl question. I simply can't imagine my child being obstinate and not giving us a clear view, but we're pretty sure it's a girl! Just no painting the nursery pink or buying clothes yet since it's not a sure thing.

Going Green

It's design team challenge day for Lizzie Anne Designs, and today we're Going Green! Click here to see the challenge details, and get a link to all the eye candy the girls' have whipped up for today. By the way, you'll also find a pleasant surprise or two while you're there...a SALE...and...blog candy! I pulled out Cute as a Bug, because I thought this little creepy crawler would look fab in green. I colored him with some Copic markers and added just the tiniest touch of pink to my otherwise green card, for his smiling cheeks. A sentiment and a decorative strip of layered papers, and he's ready to go bug somebody.

What's In It?

Stamps- Cute As a Bug (Lizzie Anne Designs)

Paper- vanilla, wasabi (SU), perhaps (BG)

Ink- black Memento

Other- Copic markers, corner punch, white gel pen

Wonderful You

This is a quick, but fun little card I whipped up using Queen For a Day, Lizzie Anne's April Monthly Mix set. You can see the whole set here. I think it has some really great unique stamps, a little different than the regular LAD sets. Have fun perusing. The whole team will have a challenge hop for you this Wednesday.

What's In It?
Stamps- Queen for a Day (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- hometown (October Afternoon), rasp fizz, new leaf, white (PTI)
Ink- onyx black (versafine)
Other- border punch and ribbon (SU), spring mix buttons (PTI), dimensionals, Copic markers for coloring ribbon, thread, needle

Thankful Bunny

Okay, I think Joslyn has me hooked on this size card now. It's the sketch for the week on Lizzie Anne Land, and the size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches. So fun!

I stamped the green and yellow squares with In the Background using white ink, and edged them with a brown punched border. The bunny (Lucky You) is done in white embossing powder, then I just rosied up his cheeks with a Copic marker. You may notice that I mirror reversed the sketch. It just worked better since the bunny faces to the right. Sentiment is from A Harvest of Memories.

What's In It?
Stamps- Lucky You, A Harvest of Memories, In the Background (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper- celery, saffron, choc chip, kraft, white (SU)
Ink- cocoa (memento), versamark, PTI white
Other- detail white ep, SU border punch, PTI buttons, Copic E93, thread, sponge, dimensionals, glue dots