Karla Dudley Designs | Everyday Storyteller Templates

Now that my MacBook is up and running again, I am able to use CS5 (yay!) for digital scrapbooking... and I missed it! Talk about a l-o-n-g two weeks. Karla released a new set of 8.5x11 inch templates today that are AWESOME! I use templates all. the. time. and hers are simply the best.

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 (All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs: Temples: Everyday Story Teller Template 8.5 x 11 inches. Staples: Me Time. '12 tag: Me Time. "today" acrylic: Me Time. "j": Tab Alphabet. "adventure" and. "boy" stickers: Itty Stickers Boy White. Brush: For the Boys. Blue patterned paper: Roycroft. "little dude" sticker: For the Boys. White paper: Me Time. Background paper: Berenstain. Font: Georgia.)

I used a ton of different kits on this layout, but my favorite thing is definitely the "today" clear word over the photo on top... such a cool look. 

I wish I had taken video of Jack jumping in the puddles... he was having so much fun. I have never seen him so dirty... but he loved every second of it. I watched Evan practice & took a million photos of both Ev and Jack... but the top one is my favorite of the bunch.

Evan doesn't have school tomorrow (teacher work day) and I'm trying to plan something fun for just the two of us. Jack will be in pre-school until noon and I never have one on one time with my oldest anymore. He is all about soccer lately, so I'm thinking of taking him to the fields to kick the ball around. 

Have a great week!

Great Impressions Stamps | Thankful Autumn

Hi there! Welcome to release week at Great Impressions Stamps. I have a CAS card and a cool fridge magnet to share today using two new Great Impressions stamps. First up is the card:

 (Supplies - Stamp: (Great Impressions Stamps) Fall Garden. Cardstock: (PTI) Rustic White, Dark Chocolate, Spring Rain. Patterned Paper: (PTI) Fine Linen Patterns Pack. Die: (PTI) Edgers Die #1. Other: Copic Markers, typewriter, baker's twine.)

The main image is so beautiful and detailed so I kept the colors and embellishments minimal. The artist of this stamp did an amazing job of capturing fall... I love it! I used my typewriter to create the sentiment strip.

Next up is a super easy fridge magnet using the new stamp Small Autumn. I die cut a frame using my Big Shot, then stamped the "Autumn" image on the bottom before coloring. This picture of my oldest son, Evan, and my sister is 5 years old... taken at a pumpkin patch in my home town. I trimmed the photo then sandwiched it between two frames, adhering it all together. Then I used an adhesive magnet on the back so it will stick to the fridge. Easy and oh so cute!

(Supplies - Stamp: (Great Impressions Stamps) Small Autumn. Die: (PTI) Fabulous Frames. Other: Copic Markers.)

And here it is, on the refrigerator next to two other magnets... the little boy on the right is Evan now (age 6!) and Jack is on the left (age 3). The boys love to clutter up the fridge with various drawings, magnets, and pictures. The poor "x" on the left fell victim to our puppy, Rocket... I can still see the teeth marks!

Make sure to check out the Great Impressions Stamps blog all week for projects, inspiration, and a look at all the new stamps being released this month. Thanks for stopping by!

CAS-ual Fridays + Wplus9 Cloud 9 + Hero Arts

I finally have a few minutes to post my cards before I need to prepare dinner and get Evan ready for scouts. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are really crazy for us... scouts, soccer, therapy, recorders... we are on the go from 7:30am - 7:30pm. By the time Friday rolls around I am ready for a nap. :-)

First up is a card for CAS-ual Fridays "For the Girls" challenge:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Hero Arts) Lotus Leaves, (Stampin' Up!) Well Scripted. Ink: (Memento) Tuxedo Black, (Fresh Ink) Pink Lemonade. Cardstock: (PTI) Aqua Mist, Smokey Shadow. Heart Punch: Stampin' Up!. Impression Plate: (PTI) Argyle. Other: Stickles, white ribbon.)

I used my Pink Lemonade fresh ink to stamp the lotus leaves onto white cardstock, then used the argyle impression plate in my Big Shot to give some texture. The hearts were punched first, then I spread stickles all over them with my finger. After they dried, I adhered them to the background cardstock. 

Next up is a card for Cloud9's October Blog Hop. Here is our inspiration piece: 

I just love the painted pumpkins! I pulled out Pretty Patches: Pumpkins for my card:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Wplus9) Pretty Patches: Pumpkin, Happy Harvest. Ink: (PTI) Canyon Clay, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado. Cardstock: (PTI) Canyon Clay, Kraft. Patterned Paper: (PTI) Distressed Dots. Dies: (Wplus9) Clear Cuts Stackers: Pinking Squares. Impression Plate: (PTI) Cane. Other: gems, baker's twine.)

Finally I have a card for this month's Hero Arts card challenge. I used one of the sketches and a beautiful dogwood stamp for my card:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Hero Arts) Dogwood stamp & die set, Everyday Messages. Ink: (Memento) Desert Sand, (PTI) Fresh Snow. Cardstock: (PTI) Kraft, White, Soft Stone. Patterned Paper: Studio Calico. Dies: (PTI) Double Ended Banner, 2.5" Limitless Layers Circles, Pinking edger. Other: Button.)

I think this last card is my favorite... I love how soft and feminine it is. The dogwood image is beautiful... even more so in person. 

That's it from me today! Have a great week. :-)

Retro Sketches | Challenge #32

Hey everyone! I finally have a working laptop! And to celebrate I spent some time in my office today watching The Vampire Diaries (hello, guilty pleasure) and making a few cards. First up is a red/white/black card featuring a beautiful poppy image from Technique Tuesday for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. 

(Supplies - Stamps: Poppy by Technique Tuesday. Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento. Cardstock: (PTI) White, Pure Poppy, Smokey Shadow. Die: (PTI) Double Ended Banner. Patterned Paper: Pure Poppy Patterns Pack. Other: Buttons, white string.)

I am in love with this poppy stamp. Actually, I am in love with all the Greenhouse Society stamps. They stamp beautifully and the images are gorgeous. I haven't seen a sneak peek of this month's stamp, but I'm hoping for tulips or daffodils... two of my favorite flowers. :-)

I have 3 more cards to share tomorrow... like I said, I was on a bit of a roll tonight. But they need to be photographed and natural light is my friend. And it's 1am.... so tomorrow it is! 

Have a great night! 

Paper Smooches Sparks | Trend Watch

Happy World Cardmaking Day! I have a quick card to share for Paper Smooches Sparks Trend Watch challenge. I used the green/pink/blue/orange colors from the tree as my inspiration for this card:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Paper Smooches) Pretty Phrases, Reflections. Cardstock: Papertrey Ink and Stampin' Up! Ink: Impress, Papertrey Ink, Stampin' Up!. Other: Buttons, gems)

I stamped the leaf image onto Kraft cardstock using my Impress Fresh Ink. I have 8 Fresh Ink ink pads... and I want to buy the rest of them! They stamp so cleanly and give perfect coverage every time. 

 Washington State University is playing OSU tonight and I have a date with my hubby (and the remote). I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Papertrey Ink | Make It Monday #85

This week's Make It Monday is glitter tabs! I love glitter and this challenge was so much fun. In the tutorial, Dawn uses heat and stick powder to secure the glitter to her card. I don't own any heat and stick powder, so I had to come up with an alternative.

First, I placed two strips of score tape on the bottom of my tab, trimming the tape to match the cardstock tab. I dumped glitter onto the sticky tab, and tapped off the excess. After pouring the leftover glitter back into the bottle, I masked off the non-glittered cardstock with post it notes and pressed the glittered cardstock into  my Versamark pad, then poured clear embossing powder over it. I tapped off the excess, then heat set it using my heat tool. The result is a perfectly glittered project with no glitter mess! I hope my mini-tutorial makes sense... feel free to ask questions in the comments! I will do my best to answer them. 

*** Edited to answer question from comments: I didn't notice any glitter sticking to my VersaMark pad. Score Tape is super sticky, and I made sure to flick the back of my card after applying glitter (to eliminate any loose pieces), before pressing it into the VersaMark pad. 

Here is my card:

(Supplies - Stamps: (PTI) Snowflake Medley, Happiest of Holidays. Cardstock: (PTI) Rustic White, Spring Rain. Ink: (PTI) Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky. Dies: (PTI) Snowflake Medley, Half & Half. Other: Glitter, vellum, buttons, silk ribbon.)

I'm sorry about the horrible picture... my MacBook bit the dust last week and Mark is backing up all my files before completely reformatting the hard drive (taking all the files off and starting over), so I am using a free 30 day trial of Photoshop Elements until my computer is returned to me. I haven't used PSE in 3+ years, and it is driving me crazy! I don't know where any of my tools are, I can't find things, and my photos are coming out dark and blueish. Hopefully Mark will be finished soon and I can have my computer back! 

I am off to check out the rest of the glitter tab projects. Have a great week!

Great Impressions Stamps | Happy Hello

Hey everyone! I have a cheerful (and very pink!) card to share today. I pulled out Whimsical Mushrooms again, this time using a pink/blue/orange color scheme. The patterned paper has been in my stash for a long time... one of the first lines I picked up from Crate Paper. 

(Supplies - Stamps: Whimsical Mushrooms by Great Impressions Stamps. Cardstock: PTI. Dies: PTI. Patterned Paper: Crate Paper. Ribbon: Stampin' Up. Other: Copics, Stickles.)

I love line art images because of their versatility... I can color them to match patterned paper, ribbon... the sky is the limit!

And thank you to everyone who left comments and participated in the Ronald McDonald House Charities blog hop. I LOVED visiting all the blogs and leaving comments! The cards were amazing and it was a great opportunity to "meet" new stampers! 

Have a fantastic week! 

Great Impressions Stamps | October Challenge

Good morning! The October Challenge for Great Impressions Stamps is Fall/Halloween. I pulled out Henry, an adorable turkey holding a pumpkin, and made a CAS card that can easily be duplicated to send to family and friends. 

(Supplies - Stamp: Henry, Great Impressions Stamps. Cardstock: Papertrey Ink. Patterned Paper: Papertrey Ink. Markers: Copics. Other: Typewriter, twine, stickles.)

I hope everyone has a great week! 

Erin.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Blog Hop

Welcome to the Ronald McDonald House Charity Hop sponsored by Great Impressions Stamps!  You should have arrived here from Katy.  If not, you will want to start at the Great Impressions Stamps Blog  or check where you are on the list below.  We don't want you to miss a thing!  Remember, stamping prizes are secretly hiding in several of the blogs, so be sure to leave everyone a little comment love!  Winners will be announced on the Great Impressions Stamps blog on Tuesday, October 2nd.

(Supplies - Stamps: (Great Impressions Stamps) Watering Can Bouquet G302. Ink: Memento Black. Cardstock: Hero Arts, Avery Elle, Papertrey ink. Impression Plate: Papertrey Ink Linen and Canvas. Markers: Copic. Other: gems, pearls, typewriter.)

I hope you enjoyed my card! I love using my old typewriter to create sentiments on my cards (and scrapbook layouts). 

Next on the hop is Barbara. Thanks for stopping by! 

1. Great Impressions Stamps Blog

 2.  Dawn

 3.  Angi

 4.  Patti

 5.  Mary

 6. Teresa

 7.  Mia

 8.  Jenny

 9.  Mynnette

 10.  Shanna

 11.  Ellen

 12.  Katy

 13.  Erin <<< You are here! 

 14.  Barbara

 15.  Peggy

 16.  Sue

 17.  Elizabeth

 18.  Tamra

 19.   Sue C.

 20.  Caroline

 21.  Great Impressions Stamps Blog

Paper Smooches Sparks | Picture Perfect Challenge

Hey there! I have a card to this week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge: Picture Perfect. Here is our inspiration piece:

I was drawn to the lime green/blue/white/black color scheme, so that's what I went with. I used My Peeps to stamp three birds, then I punched them out with varying sizes of circle punches. I popped up the owl using dimensional adhesive. 

(Supplies - Stamps: (Paper Smooches) My Peeps. Cardstock: Papertrey Ink. Ink: Memento. Baker's twine: Stampin' Up!)

I am so happy tomorrow is Friday... Jack has been home sick this week and I am looking forward to the weekend! Whining three-year-olds are exhausting! 

Thanks for stopping by!