St. Valentine's Day

Hello all you lovers out there...Lovers of people, lovers of books, lovers of animals, lovers of the great outdoors, or even just lovers of chocolate...Happy St. Valentine's Day! 

I know this is a silly Hallmark holiday, but I've been making Valentines since I could hold a crayon, so we always celebrate our love for each other in my house!

These quick cards went out to a few friends this week. Hedgehugs stamps and dies by Lawn Fawn, striped paper by MFT, polka dot paper and banner dies by PTI. 

These two small lunchbox notes went to school and work (respectively) with my youngest son and my fiance. Otterly in Love stamps by MFT.

This card for my mom was a case of Melissa Phillips' card here. Sentiment stamp from Cupid's Arrow by Cas-ual Fridays Stamps. Love die and background stamps by PTI. Patterned paper by MFT. 

This card went out to my BFF and is a case of Cherion Brandon. All stamps and dies from Love Notes by Neat And Tangled. 

And just because I couldn't let my kiddos and sweetheart go off to school and work without SOME sort of sweet treat, I whipped up these mini brownie bites with real strawberry frosting. Here is the recipe I use for the ABSOLUTE BEST strawberry frosting ever: recipe for strawberry frosting. 

Hope your St. Valentine's Day is a sweet one:) 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Sneak Peek-Casual Vine Dies

Okay, its the last day of sneak peeks with the Casual Fridays Stamps team, and this one is my personal favorite:) 

Casual Vine FriDie.

It perfectly matches the Casual Elegance stamp set and now I don't have to fussy cut that beautiful vine out! 

I die cut 3 pieces of green cardstock with the vine and then switched the centers out for contrast. A bow, a button, and a simple sentiment from Stop was all that it needed. 

Be sure to see what gorgeous samples the rest of the DT has for you on the CFS blog. 

One lucky winner from all the comments will be happy dancing today:)

All new FriDies will be available after the full reveal at midnight tonight. 

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Sneak Peek-Linked dies

It's the second day of the countdown and today the Casual Fridays Stamps DT is showcasing another new FriDie set called Linked. It matches our Lotsa Links stamp set and will be released on April 10th!!

I used it without the stamps here because it stands on it's own:)

And those tiny cut outs around the sentiment (from Casual Elegance) came right from the die cut leftovers!

How cute would they be as flower petals??

Be sure to check out the Casual Fridays Stamps Blog for even more inspiration from the rest of the DT, and leave a comment there for a chance to win!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Sneak Peek-Stalk up!

Woohoo! I'm coming at you with a sneak peek of a new FriDie set releasing this week at Casual Friday Stamps!

This new die set coordinates with the previously released Beanstalks stamp set, but is still really versatile on it's own:)

I die cut the long stalk out of pale green vellum multiple times and held them down to my card front by sewing the sentiment panel over them. Sentiment is composed of Frankly and Breathe. 

Then I added simple white gel pen dots along the border. 

Be sure to check out the DT blog to see all the gorgeous samples for your viewing pleasure!

And leave a comment for a chance to win, of course:)

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Sneak Peek--Wait for it...

Today is the last day of the Casual Friday Stamps sneak peeks and this set will knock your socks off! *grin* 

It's called Wait For It, and has words words words that are perfect for creating cards that are clever, funny, and one-of-a-kind.

It has a few sentiments that come from a popular TV show here in the states.

Can you guess where this line comes from?

"It's going to be...wait for it...LEGENDARY!"

*giggle*

Of course it has lots of other options, clearly, as you can see above.

Wanna see how I created this fun background?

I found a large circular stamp from my Big Thanks set, and flipped it upside down onto my acrylic block. Then I inked this back side up with fun colors of pigment ink and repeat stamped it, making sure to layer the colors.  I then added the thin strips of white cardstock to frame it and stamped my sentiment in black. 

Be sure to check out the blog for all the amazing samples by the DT and to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Sneak Peek-Casual Comfort

Hello hello!

I'm back today not only with a peek at another new set releasing at Casual Friday Stamps (Casual Comfort), but also at a matching fri-die set called Casual Trees!

These will be for sale in the store on March 12th.

I have to admit I squealed with delight when Michele shared the prototype images with us. I mean, what's not to love about these beautiful leafy/vine-like/tree/seaweed images??? And then we get a matching fri-die set too? *be still my heart*

The mix-n-match sentiments in this set are perfect for sympathy, love, and comfort. 

There are so many combos you can use to say the perfect thing. 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT did because you will be amazed. 

I know I was.

And don't forget to leave a comment on the CFS blog for a chance to win as well.

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

CFS Sneak Peek!

I am loving this sweet new set called CLOVER that is perfect for St. Patrick's Day, but also good for occasions year 'round! 

It will actually be released tonight at the Casual Friday Stamps store so you have time to create some fun things with it:)

For lots of inspiring ideas by the DT, check out the blog and be sure to leave a comment for a potential win! *wink*

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Opposites

Welcome! I have two cards up on the Casual Fridays Stamps blog today. This first one is pretty clean and simple using some of their unique dies.  I stamped the sentiment from Woot Woot onto the Oval tag die, and strategically placed three "splatters" or "jacks"  from the Funky round tags die set above the sentiment. Some white gel pen dots and a button finished it off! (Looking at it now, I want to round those bottom corners very badly.)

This next card is not at all CAS, clearly:)

 I began by stamping the flower images from Loving Thoughts onto the die cuts I made with the complementary Loving Blooms die set. Then I used a wet paintbrush to simple swipe the dye ink from the edges towards the center to give each flower a bit of tonal color. 

The yellow banner was stamped using Losta Links. (The blue banner is from some printable "glitter" paper I purchased on Etsy from SonyaDeHart. I love that stuff! So many colors and no actual glitter to fall off or make a mess!) 

In retrospect, I would stitch around the border of the card were I to do it again. 

 The sentiment, also from Loving Thoughts was a last minute change. I had been planning to hang a smaller tag from the ribbon with a tiny sentiment on it, but changed my mind.

 I'm a  woman.

 I can do that. 

At will. 

And frequently:)

Oh hey, don't forget about the Blue Challenge still happening right now at Casual Fridays Stamps! The winner will be a guest designer and get free product! 

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

The Winter Blues challenge

Are you as tired of winter as I am? The snow can melt any day now and I would be a happy camper!

We've had ONE day with temperatures above freezing in three weeks. 

One day. 

And the temp was 33° F. 

*facepalm*

In honor of the winter blues, Casual Friday Stamps is hosting it's FIRST EVER CHALLENGE!

Use any CFS stamp or Fri-Die set and the color blue and let your mojo fly!

Any style from CAS to Layer-licious is welcome, as long as your project is new.

The challenge will end at 11:59 pm on February 14th.

The prize is pretty awesome...the winner will be a Guest Designer for one of CFS's upcoming releases, which of course means you will receive something yummy that hasn't been seen before, and have your project featured on the store blog during sneak peek week!

I couldn't resist focusing on the "blues" aspect of winter. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a very real thing when you live with winter for 6 months out of the year. But things always get better because spring arrives eventually :)

 I used Butterbows and Breathe and the large Bubble Label Fri-Die on my blue card.

Head on over to the CFS blog and link up your Winter Blues project! 

Be sure to check out the awesome cards the DT has posted for your inspiration as well.

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Cupid's Arrow and Heart Board Fri-Die

Okay, today is the last day of sneak peeks for the new release at Casual Fridays Stamps!

We are playing with the new Cupid's Arrow stamp set and a Fri-Die called Heart Board that matches!

This set is sah-weet. Seriously. 

I love love love the itty bitty sentiments (which fit perfectly on the arrow die), and the shape of the concentric hearts.

Go see what the other Girl Fridays have done and be sure to leave a comment on the CFS blog because one lucky winner will receive the ENTIRE RELEASE!!!

These new stamps and Fri-dies will be available in the store at Midnight EST on January 9th. Perfect timing for you to get all your valentines made for your loved ones:)

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Sands of Time sneak peek

Sorry for my late posting.

 NYS has declared a state of emergency here in Western NY, so things are pretty crazy.  

Today the Casual Fridays Stamps girls are back with sneak peeks of another new set call Sands Of Time. 

Isn't that hourglass timer the cutest thing? 

Michele is so clever at designing unique stamps that make me wonder how I ever lived without!

And the sentiments that go along with this set are so darling and full of love.

Go check out what the other girls created and see the full set at the Casual Fridays Stamps Blog!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Love Notes sneak peek (plus a new Fri-die!)

It's time for some fabulous sneak peeks of the new release at Casual Fridays Stamps!

Today we are showcasing Love Notes and the Heart Note Fri-die.

Love Notes ($15) and Heart Note Fri-Die ($6)

will be available for purchase in the CFS store,

as well as at several retailers on 

January 9th!

To see the full set, check out the CFS blog, and be sure to leave a comment! One lucky winner drawn from all the comments from this release will win the ENTIRE RELEASE!

I had fun arranging those heart note die cuts into a star shape:) And on the second card, you can JUST see the outline of the stamped and embssed white heart note image underneath the red heart note die cut. I love how this looks:) And the sentiments? Don't get me started on how many possibilities there are!

I adore this set and know you will too!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Belated Christmas Wishes

Happy New Year to everyone!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful holiday season.

I'm playing catch-up in my personal life but way behind in blogland:) I thought I'd post a card I made a few weeks ago and never made time to blog about.

I used Rad and Christmas Carols from Casual Fridays Stamps and just doodled the rest of each letter with a white gel pen.

Go check out the awesome news on the CFS blog today...

They are participating in the 2nd Annual Seasons Giving Blog Hop and THREE lucky winners will receive a $25 gift code!

Plus, there is a special for anyone as well, even if you don't want to try to win.

Now that's the kind of sale I'm all about!

I'm going to end with a few photos of the holidays around here.

I snapped this with my iPhone. It's our Christmas Eve table display. I like to do white/purple/silver in my dinning room for Christmas but it was dark and the colors didn't come through very well. . 

My youngest on Christmas morning. 

I love how he nearly blends into the tree! (I had to wake him up and ask him to come down...can you believe it??)

My beautiful mom on Christmas morning. 

She was opening a Matryoshka nesting doll I put in her stocking:) 

This is Lily. 

She belongs to my boyfriend, and she loves to be photographed:) 

My favorite gift! 

I have wanted one of these for 10 years! 

Before I sign off, I want to let you know that there will be some exciting things happening here in the next week or two! 

Both stamp companies that I design for will be releasing some awesome new goodies and sneak peeks begin January 6th!!

AND

Be sure to check out both the Denami Blog and the Casual Friday Stamps blog beginning January 6th!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy new year,

XOXO

Season's Greetings

I'm swamped this weekend working for the Christmas Bazaar Fundraiser at my youngest son's school, but I wanted to share this simple holiday card I whipped up using some great Christmas stamps from Casual Fridays Stamps.

I stamped the present image on three pieces of PP, cut them out, and colored the bows with white gel pen. The sentiment was stamped in two colors of ink on kraft, and the pattern along the bottom of the main panel was added to bring in the kraft color. Simple, right?

This would be cute as a birthday card in different colors (and changing the sentiment of course!). 

Stamps used: 

Snowflake Greetings

Merry Kiss-mas

Zigs & Zags

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Out Loud

ETA:  I apparently mistakenly scheduled this post for DECEMBER 13...*facepalm*

Good morning (or afternoon or evening)!

I'm back with a sneak peek of the last set November being released tomorrow at Casual Fridays Stamps! 

ETA: all three new sets are available NOW in the store!!

Today's peeks are focused on one AWESOME set designed by Michele called Out Loud.

It's full of text! Cursive, playful, classic, and modern text all abound in this one great set.

Not only did I use Out Loud here, but I also couldn't resist playing with the die from Funky Square Tags as well. Layered together with a bit of ink the two diecuts look like a modern flower. 

Go see what the other girls have created...I'm so honored to be working with such a talented group. Honestly, those girls blow me away with their creativity each month.

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO