I'm pretty sure

I post too many cards using butterflies...but I guess that means I make too many cards using butterflies. To be honest though, lately I've given in to it, and decided that I just love butterfly stamps, and since I *will* use them, it's probably ok to buy a few more butterfly stamps. There are currently a couple more on their way to me right now :)

Anyway, here is today's butterfly card. This butterfly stamp is from Gina K.

Some more layered stamping on this card too. Sorry about the bad photo...didn't realize till now. I used Jenni Bowlin ink and Hero Arts layering paper. I'm kind of liking the somewhat thinner cardstock, as opposed to Papertrey's super thick lately....especially for layers.

And that's it. Thanks for stopping by today!! And Happy Fourth of July :)

love

Fun to have some love cards every now and then :) Though I do think it is probably the kind I make the least often.... (maybe I should change that?)

I did some clear heat embossing, and used a really pretty set of stamps from Verve. Love the pretty frame image :)

I really like doing clear embossing on black. I really like the sentiment too. Such a nice clean font.

Okay--super short again. We are headed to the embassy tomorrow to deal with citizenship issues for our kids and my head is spinning. (Just can't wait for it to be done!)

Thanks for stopping by!!

A pub :)

I am so thrilled to have a had a few cards published lately :) I really like sharing them here, but  I often end up forgetting when it is okay to share them. This is one from CARDS February issue.

I really liked how this one turned out :) To be honest, the ones that get chosen aren't usually my favorites, so I was happy that one that I really liked was actually chosen. I used Papertrey's anniversary set from last year and  as sentiment from Verve. I punched the butterflies out of acetate and inked the edges with white Stazon for some definition. Finished off with some machine stitching.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Golden week is coming to an end here, but we have definitely been enjoying the time off. Tomio and I fixed up the boys' room today~yay! It looks SO much better now :)

Hope you have a wonderful day!!

just a simple

love card :)

I went through a phase where I barely used ribbon at all. But I find I'm back to using it again :) Just depends on my mood I guess lol.

Still keeping with the CAS style that I like best though. The stamps are from Verve. One of my very favorite Love sets for sure.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have some school to finish, and a few messes to clean up, and some nice  weather to enjoy. It has been *so* warm here the last couple of days :) I {heart} spring :)

well, it's March.

I really, really can't believe it is March already! Seriously, I have no idea where February went...

Just a quick card post tonight. Lots of bright colors. These flowers are from Verve. Not sure if you can see it well, but I impressed the whole front panel. I love the little bit of texture it adds.

Like I said, just a quick one today :) Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

how about some embossing

I've mentioned mine love/hate relationship with embossing before. So I decided to keep working at it and try to push it more towards the "love" side lol.

I do like how this card turned out. Though I did find it kind of hard to get the clear embossing to show up in pictures well. I really like these labels from Papertrey. When I first saw them, I wasn't crazy about them. But when I saw the stamps to go with them, I started really wanting them heehee. So glad I got them! Lots of pretty stamps in this set.

I like the pink and black together too. I added some baker's twine and a heart to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by today! It's a cold, rainy day here, so I'm thinking baking and stamping sounds just about right :)

purple.

I realized I don' use a lot of purple in my cards. I use *plenty* of lavender, but not much "purple". But since I got a pack of purple cardstock, I thought I would sort of challenge myself to make some cards with i.

So far, I've made this 1. heehee. But I do think I like how it turned out :) It's a very deep purple, isn't? The houndstooth background is from Unity.

And the frame and sentiment are from Wplus9, the sprig is from Verve, and the flower is from Papertrey.hee. A lot of different stamp companies for this one.

Okay--I'm off to straighten up the house before Tomio and Leah get back from playing a round of golf today. Way too cold for me, but I guess they enjoy it... : ) Thanks so much for stopping by!!

I've been

to the doctor so much this year that they have totally gotten to to know me and my kids. The nurse asked me, "oh, so it's just Emma today?" I guess it's a good thing. I actually really like our pediatrician and dermatologist. Oh, and the dentist too. When I called to make my last appointment, the receptionist was like "it's your birthday this week, isn't it?" heehee :)
Anyway...

I really like how this card turned out. Especially considering it's not a "CAS" card. Lots of different stamps one this one-- some Verve, some Wplus9, Impression Obsession for the background.

I really like how Impression Obsession has huge background stamps that cover the whole background. I also really like Verve's dies, like I used for the sprigs. I wish they had even more :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I haven't stamped in a couple days, so I'm really hoping to today.

Another wedding card...

I was thinking to myself  "hmm... wonder why I keep feeling like making wedding cards lately", then I remembered. It's because of these gorgeous new stamps from Verve I got. I actually got them pretty much only for the frame stamp to match the label. But I found I love all the stamps in the set.

Isn't this such a pretty heart?! I embossed it with white embossing powder to make it pop :) Other than that, I kept it pretty simple.I'm finally getting into using my stash of twine too :)

Short and sweet for me again today. I have groceries to put away, and a toilet to unclog :(
Thanks for stopping by today!

the kids

are slowly showing improvement, thankfully. And we made it back from swimming class by bus okay too.  AND, I have managed to squeeze some stamping time into my evenings the last few days.

This is one of the cards I made. I used some of my new Taylored Expressions stamps again. I *knew* I wanted to get these pretty roses as soon as I saw them. I love the coordinating dies too :) I added some copic shading to the big rose after stamping it.

I really like how it turned out :) Oh, the sentiment is from Verve.

Thanks for stopping by today! I don't know about you, but I am *really* ready for the weekend

Best laid plans...

I really, really, planned to post much sooner than this. But well, stuffy noses, rashes and a lot more doctor's visits than I would like to have made kind of slowed things down a bit. We did manage to keep things going with school, and I did actually get some stamping time in, though, so I shouldn't complain :)
Anyway, today's card is much more my style than the vintage-y cards experimented with.

I used some of my new Verve stamps for this. I debated about getting these, and their sale at the end of last year pushed me over the edge. So glad I got them :) Really pretty and easy to use.

I like having the diecuts to match. I'm not great at fussy-cutting.  I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but I impressed the white layer with PTI's linen/cancas impression plate.

Thanks for stopping in today!! I hope you are staying well :)

it's true..

I'm back with another Christmas card! I hope this is the sign of a new trend here on the blog?! We'll see :)

More Verve stamps today. Aren't they just so pretty?!?! I really wanted the pretty sentiment to stand out, so  I embossed them with white. I really like the rustic cream base.

Okay--I'm off to make broccoli casserole and caramel chocolate brownies :) Thanks SO much for stopping by. Merry Christmas!!

again?!

I know! But the more Christmas cards the better, right :)?

Pretty simple again. I stamped directly on the kraft and colored it in with some copics. Added a bow out of twine, and that's it :) These stamps are from Verve. I'm really liking their stamps and dies lately, and I'm pretty sure I'll be *needing* to order some more soon. heehee.

Thanks for stopping by today! We are off from school today--gonna listen to Christmas music, make some cookies for Santa aka Daddy :)

tags, tags, tags...

I really like making Christmas tags :) I like how quick they are and how you can make them pretty much any shape and size you want. I also really like how my kiddos all look under the tree and see if there are any more tags with their names on them each morning :) But between making tags for my family and for my mother's church get together, I've made over 70 tags this year. Now that's a lot of tags. And since I don't like making the same thing more than once, they were all different. I think I can say, for now, I'm done with tags for at least a few days heehee :) I don't have pictures of all of them, but here are few:

I really like this little snowman :)
And these snowflakes from Verve are just gorgeous.

Here's another.

 I really like the colors of this one.
The ones under our tree are mostly more cute though, with Santa and reindeer. I'll try to get some pics of those too, if  I can.

 Have you finished all your Christmas shopping? I think we have, from the looks of our tree :) heehee :)

Thanks for stopping by today!!

rain.

The weather has been so crazy here lately. It will be sunny, then start pouring. Then it will clear up again before you know it. I've decided to pretty much count on rain and hang all my laundry inside for now. But hey, as long as the rain cools it off even a little bit, I'm ok with it :)

So I decided I use my butterfly punch a little bit too much. I had this stack of new cards I had made on my desk, and when I looked through them, I found that there many more with the butterfly punch than without. So I challenged myself to change some of them and use a different embellishment for them. This card is one of those. I actually really like this version better. This tea set is one that I don't use nearly enough, so I was really glad to use it. I actually made it a double challenge for myself to try to use a set that had been kind of neglected to replace the butterflies. (and don't worry, I still use the butterflies all the time, and I'll be sharing those cards too :)) But isn't that honey ball just too cute? There is only a die for the teacup, so just fussy cut the honey ball and the "honey".  Oh, and if you are stamping these with matching dies, I found it works SO much easier if you stamp the outline first and then the inside color. It might be obvious to most people, but it took me a few times to figure that out.

Well, thank you for stopping by today! Tomio is having more "early" days at work this week, so I'm off to try to get to bed early.

a tag for today...

Tags are so quick and fun to make :) I love that I get to makes lots of tags at Christmas. I actually only started making them last year (!) But I discovered how fun it was. So now I feel like I can squeeze in some tags even if I don't "have time" to sit and make a whole card or layout. I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again--I love my music background stamp. It's just so fun. I also did one of my favorite things to do with it too. I stamped it in Antique Linen distress ink and then blending it. The other stamps I used today are from Verve. I kind of hate to admit this...but I had almost forgotten I got them (ahh!) In my defense, I got them right after Christmas last year, and hadn't a had a change to use them yet. The circle is stamped in Broken China and the sentiment is in Walnut stain. I find I like my distress inks so much that I will turn to them first. Finished with a couple of buttons and some twine. Super quick and easy.
Thanks for stopping by! It's the weekend now, so time to have fun :) Tomio has another big "hump" to get over at work, so I don't think we'll be out on the town much till then. But I like staying home enjoying the Christmas atmosphere heehee!

doctors

Today was Rhys's first check up for his braces. We actually stopped at the pediatrician first and got some cold medicine for Emma and Rhys since their coughs seemed to be hanging on. I was reminded of how glad I am that they still get all their meds for free :) Then we went to the dentist. Everything seems to be in order, he adjusted the rubber bands or whatever the technical terms are lol. He also said that I was doing a great job of brushing Rhys' teeth with the braces~yay!! I was nervous about it since they said I needed to brush them well since it's easier to get cavities etc. But apparently I'm doing a good job. Sometimes it's just nice to be reassured, you know? Even if it seems like a little thing.

Ok. I have another tag for today. This one already has a name on it though :)

Simple and fun :) I just stamped the snowflakes in Walnut stain distress ink, and added the strip with the Merry Christmas. Stamp and trim the holly leaves and add some buttons for berries and you're done :) I really like this snowflake though. It is from Verve, I think.

Thanks for stopping by. Oh, did you notice I changed my profile picture? The other one was at least five years old, so I thought it might be better to have something more recent lol. This one is from last week, so that's pretty much me now. I can feel like I'm not deceiving anyone now heehee :) By the way, did you realize there are only 18 days till Christmas?! That's what Rhys was reminding me of today :)

cookies and cards

The cool, rainy, wet, weather continues here. It has been that way for the past few days. I'm pretty sure it's the reason for the 3 batches of cookies we baked and finished off already this week. But it's baking weather, right? Definitely would be worse *not* to bake something :)

Ok, I have another scripture card today. I'm really loving my woodgrain background lately. It's one of the easiest backgrounds from Papertrey to use, I think. And it goes with everything :). I cut the Quickutz label from Papertrey kraft carstock and stamped it with tin types background. Then I stamped the leaf image from in Walnut Stain distress ink. It took almost a year(!) after I got my distress inks to actually use them much at all, but I don't think I could stamp without them now. Love them :). I knew I wanted to stamp the verse in white on top, but white never shows up very well for me. SO, I stamped it on a transparency and covered the whole card front with it. I folded the sides over and ahered it on the back. Then I added the cream strip at the bottom,  stamped with text. Finally, I stitched down the sides with my sewing machine. It was a little trickier sewing over the transparency, definitely good to have it adhered down first.

Thanks for popping in! Miss Emma is letting my know just how sleepy she is, so we'll see if we can get her to take her nap :) It's almost the weekend ~yay :)

hi:)

Hello!! How's your week going? Ours started off pretty well :) We're having some dreary weather right now though. I got my latest Papertrey order this weekend though!!! Yay :) I can't wait to play. I always like to sort of forget what I ordered so I can be a little surprised when I open my package. heehee :)  A little silly I know, but still fun! I'm in the middle of a couple of album projects though, so I'm making sure I finish those before I play with my new stuff.

I

I hope you don't mind a Christmas card in spring :) Christmas cards are some of my favorites and I like to make them all year long. I started with a kraft base, no surprise there :) Then I stamped a text background image from Cornish Heritage Farms on a Hibiscus Burst panel. I love how it softens the bright pink. Sometimes it is hard for me to use them when they are SO bright. Then I stitched it onto some Sweet Blush strips. I heat embossed those pretty snowflakes from Verve with some sparkly white embossing powder. Then I diecut them in circles with my Quickutz. I colored some pearls with my copics to match. The ribbon is Ocean Tides from Papertrey. The sentiment is from Holiday Button bits. I love how it came together. I want to try this color combo again for sure!

Thanks SO much for stopping by! I hope you have an awesome day!

supplies: cardstock: kraft-paper reflections, all other-papertrey ink; stamps- background-cornish heritage farms, snowflakes-verve, sentiment-papertrey ink; ribbon-papertrey

Enjoy today :)

Things started back pretty well for the first day after break :) I did get the boys to bed on time and Miss Emma went to be like she used to too, yay :) The weather was so nice this morning though, that we decided to pack up our school books and head to the park. It was sooo nice doing school outside on our blanket, then taking breaks to run around. A great way to ease back in to studies.I only wish I would have thought of it sooner so I could have baked some cookies to take with us, but I did make some when we got back heehee :)

This is a card I made before the break. I love these colors!

I used Papertrey's Turning a New Leaf for the leaves on the kraft panel. I inked the edges a bit too. I love the way dark brown looks on kraft...sigh:) I used versmark to stamp the text on the spring moss cardstock. For the butterflies, I punched them twice--once in white and once in clear acetate. Then I stamped the same leaf image from before on them with white Stayzon ink. I adhered them with glue dots and put pearls on top. The sentiment is from Verve's Black tie Birdies.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you enjoy today :)

supplies: cardstock: papertreyink; stamps-sentiment-verve, all others-papertrey ink; ink-tsukineko; punch-martha stewart crafts.