Love Never Fails

or

We are attending the wedding reception of some friends tomorrow who actually got married in May (on the beach in SC--amazing, right?). The groom has been a friend of mine for many years. We met online and dated for a short while before realizing we weren't really a good match. *chuckle* But he became very good friends with my fiance and then he found the greatest girl and they had a baby and now we all hang out together and try to plan double dates!

Here's my issue...I can't decide which placement of the word "LOVE" that I like better!

I intended it to be near the bottom right, and have had a few crafty friends agree that that's where it belongs, but my fiance and my son and two other friends think it should be near the top left. 

Ugh. The struggle. 

I know, I know...first world problems, right?

Either way, our friends throwing the reception party will love it and that's what counts:)

Thanks for stopping by, 

Dana

Stamps are: Botanical Bounty, Botanical Bounty II, and Inspired: Love by Papertrey ink.

Stamping for Families Blog Hop

Hello all you lovely crafty peeps!

Thanks for checking out the Stamping for Families blog hop that some of us concerned citizens have put together.

Graphic created by Sandy Allnock

My card today focuses on the pure, basic, love of family. It's not a commentary on divorce nor partisan politics (nor do the stick figures represent only Mom/Dad parenting), but the simple concept that unity and togetherness makes for strong families. 

I believe all human beings should be treated with kindness and compassion. Especially those that are reaching out for assistance. I believe that no human is illegal. I believe that children belong with their families.I love my boys very much and would be devastated to have them taken away from me if we were fleeing a bad situation. 

If you believe in these things too, support the "KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER ACT."

1. Pick up your phone and dial (202) 224-3121.

2. State your zip code.

3. When connected, simply say:

 "I live in (__) and I support SB3036."

Here are a few other ways to help:

The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, in Texas has a family reunification fund that helps undocumented immigrants pay bonds; usually at least $1500

The Arizona-based Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project provides legal services to immigrants and unaccompanied children.

Kids in Need of Defense partnered with Target to create Baby2Baby, a registry where you can purchase diapers and other essentials for immigrant children.

Purchase snacks, toiletries, and medicine for children through Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s Amazon wish list. The organization shelters immigrants released from custody.

Stamps are Hero Arts from the set "You are Loved."

Leave a comment below with your thoughts. I am offering a $25 gift certificate to Hero Arts or Butterfly Reflections Ink to a random winner to be picked one week from today on Saturday June 30, 2018. (Disagreement or dissension is fine, but rude, combative comments will be deleted. This blog hop is about compassion for all humanity. )

Please check out all the other participants! I know Sandy Allnock is also offering up two classes as a prize. One to a commenter and one to a participant who links up to our InLinkz (shown below), and I think Sharna has a GC up for grabs as well.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you for stopping by today,
much love

Inspired By All The Little Things #80

Hello hello! 

I'm back again with another "Inspired By All the Little Things" guest post.

This is honestly such a fun challenge because there are so many things to be inspired by in the images each time. You can take one thing and run with it, or do what I did in this case and incorporate as much goodness from the original picture as you can into your card!

Here is the most recent challenge image:

Isn't it gorgeous?!

Can you see all the ways I was inspired? That birdcage, the wings, the gold "hello," the flowers, the colors, and the barnwood backdrop. Phewww. I think I truly was inspired by ALL the little things:)

I hope you'll play along with us for challenge #80 at Inspired By All The Little Things! Create a project and link it up so we can all see what inspires YOU! You have until Thursday March 1 to link your card. 

Many thanks to Veronica for inviting me to be February's guest designer. I am now a regular fan of this fun challenge:)

Thanks for stopping by, 

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, 

Inspired by All the Little Things #79

I was asked by the incredible Veronica Z to be the guest designer over at Inspired By All The Little Things challenge blog!

This is the sweet image I was given to find inspiration:

I think it's pretty obvious where I pulled the inspiration from:) There is something about old bicycles that just warms my heart. Pun intended!

I also liked that red polka dot package with the green bow, and the word "love" on the white pillow. 

Bicycle, sentiment, teeny hearts, and word bubble stamps from Wilson Designs Ride Away With Me set. Don't you just love that tandem bicycle?

Big "love" word die is from Neat & Tangled, Heart dies are from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, cardstock and patterned paper from PTI.  

What inspires YOU about that image above? Why not join in and play along with this challenge! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Wallpaper inspired

Hello there! 

I thought I'd post a card I made a week or so ago based on a wallpaper sample I saw on Pinterest. 

And here's the wallpaper sample I used as inspiration: 

Immediately, I was inspired to pull out some floral stamps, and a piece of lace. It was more difficult than I thought to get to ink colors right when stamping on medium grey cardstock though. Trial and error is a part of being creative but it can also be frustrating!

You can see I chose a lighter shade of grey for the vine images peeking out from under the florals. I didn't want them to be the focal point or be too distracting, and I have my floral cluster pointing upwards rather than down, like on the wallpaper. 

Anyway, it inspired me to dig for some more wallpaper samples and see how I could be inspired, and there are so many out there! I may just have to have a (personal) monthly challenge based on wallpaper samples!

What do you think?

Stamps are Gran's Garden, Keep it Simple:Birthday III, and Turning a New Leaf. Happy die is from the Wonderful Words die collection.   

Thanks for stopping by, 

Take a deep breath

Happy Friday!

Sometimes I just need to create for the fun of being creative. That's how this card came to be. 

I was playing around with Garden Party, stamping random flowers and leaves on a white panel and just having fun. When I finished, I didn't like the center of my image, so I stamped and embossed the big sentiment (Quoted:Start Again) on a separate panel to cover it up! I fussy cut around the top and bottom to help show more of the stamping underneath. Soft Stone is one of my go-to card base colors. It makes the white pop. 

I hope you all have a great weekend and get some creative time yourself!

Thanks for stopping by,

Into the swing of things

Hello friends! I'm back today with a card I created for a new (to me) challenge blog; Inspired By All The Little Things. 

I stamped the lily of the valley flowers on vellum and then heat embossed them in white. To add color, I flipped the image over and sponged pigment ink on the backside. Then I fussy cut around the entire image. 

If you look closely, you can see where I messed up and accidentally cut out part of the left leaf! Oops. Ha. 

I glued the flower image to a nestabilities die cut shape that I dry embossed and then added the heat embossed sentiment on a banner strip on top. This entire piece was then adhered with foam tape to a patterned paper panel. Pink pearls finished it off. 

Here is the image from Inspired By All The Little Things blog.

Can you see what I was inspired by? The white on white raised pattern and shape of that cookie, along with the flowers and colors. 

I'm sending this card out to my SIL who loves lily of the valley and whose birthday is right around the corner. 

Stamps, cardstock, and paper are PTI. Ink is Fresh Ink by Impress, and Versamark. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Love & Kindness

Hello friends, 

let’s ignore the fact that it’s been ages since I posted and get right to the card I made, okay? *smile*

I was feeling inspired while cleaning up my studio desk so I made this very quick card for a dear friend who is going through a rough time. A trimmed piece of flowery paper, a stamped sentiment on grey cardstock and it was done!

Background patterned paper is Simple Stories Vintage Bliss, stamps are Hero Arts Acts of Kindness, ink is Fresh Ink by Impress and Versamark, cardstock is PTI.  

Don't hold your breath, but I might have a few more posts coming up soon:) 

Thanks for popping by, 

Blog Hop: Stamping for Autism Awareness

Cheerio! Welcome to another stop on the Stamping for Autism Awareness Blog Hop. 

Autism is such an important topic to keep in the forefront of our conversations. Being kind, open, non-judgmental, and inclusive towards all of our fellow human beings should be the first step!

I created three cards for today's hop. 

This one is my favorite. My son helped color the heart and the sentiment says it all! Stamps are from The Project Bin. The set is called Spencer's Set and has lots of good sentiments to fit this puzzle piece heart image.You should totally check it out!

I love this card too. It's near and dear to my heart. Although my kiddos aren't on the Autism Spectrum, they have special needs and we deal with several issues on a daily basis. I tell them all the time that it's okay to be different and it doesn't make them any less human than any other kid out there!

The digital image came from MelonHeadz, and was free! I created the sentiment in a word program. 

For my last card I wanted something to really push home the idea that people with Autism are not dumb, stupid, or any one of the many despicable things they are called. They merely see, feel, and relate to the world around them in a way that others can't understand. Digital image is from MelonHeads and I added the sentiment to the center using my computer. 

I hope you are enjoying the Autism Awareness Blog, and I hope you are inspired to show compassion for those with Autism by including them, and treating them as you would anyone else!

 Thanks for stopping by, 

Here is the entire list of Blog Hop participants:

An InLinkz Link-up

Just under the wire

ETA: *pout* I apparently missed the deadline. Phooey. 

Hello crafty friends!

I decided to join in on the fun with the Reverse Confetti Sketch challenge this month. Because I didn't stamp or participate in the stamping/blogging world for nearly two years *gasp* I figured the more challenges I join, the easier it will be to get my feet wet again. 

I'm getting my submission in for SFYTT#45 just in the nick of time too. Pheww!

I used patterned paper from the Reverse Confetti Very Merry 6x6 pad, A sentiment from the God Is Good stamp set, and some Wheat Confetti Cuts dies. Add in a snippet of ribbon and some sequins and call it finished! 

Here is the sketch that was posted.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Have a great day!

A day late and a dollar short

Happy Sunday! 

I hope things are warmer in your corner of the world than they are here. Brrr. We went from absurdly warm and sunny (73°) back to 30° and 4 inches of snow (and counting) over the course of ONE DAY. Crazy. 

Last week during the Past, Present, & Future challenge on Nichole's blog, I saw this gorgeous card of Lizzy's: 

And since I didn't have any of the featured sets from 2016, I decided to case her card and recreate it with a set I DID own. 

Lizzy used To Have and To Hold, I decided to try Embellished Elegance. 

I used Shimmer Mist to spray my background panel with green speckles which is difficult to see here, and I stamped a large woodgrain stamp onto my card base of Fine Linen for the left side. A minuscule strip of white cardstock defines the edge. 

I curved the leafy stamps to form a heart shape and added several flowers from the set, along with the Love die cut and sentiment. While I do have the matching dies for Embellished Elegance, I found it was easier to just fussy cut them by hand. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get this card posted in time for the challenge. Poo. Which is why you are seeing it today:) The inside has a Happy Anniversary sentiment from the same set because I will be sending it to my bestie and her husband come June. 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Leafy Thanks

Hey there! 

I needed a Thank You card for the aide who helps keep my son organized at school, but didn't want feminine floral images. Leave it Be was just the thing! I sent this off to school with my son last Friday. Hopefully it was received. 

The 'Thanks' was cut out of thick tag stock material so it was sturdy and raised up a bit more than regular cardstock. I added the rest of the sentiment from an older PTI stamp set called Big & Bold Wishes. Quick, simple, and to the point!

Supplies used: Leave It Be, Big & Bold Wishes, Big Basics;Thanks die, Tag Sale;Quilted die, Tropical Teal cardstock, White Tag Stock, Fresh Snow pigment ink, Teal dye ink.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Brushed Blooms

Good Morning. Happy Presidents Day!

Have you been following the 10 year anniversary celebration of Papertrey Ink?

It's interesting to see some of the older sets that I love being showcased. I don't have a LOT of the newer ones, because my stamping time dwindled in recent years so naturally, my purchasing did too:)  However, I have a few more recent sets and one of them is Brushed Blooms. 

I tend to reach for this set when I have a sympathy card or just need to let someone know I'm thinking of them. The flowers and leaves can be made to look soft and almost like they have a filter over them. 

Supplies used: Brushed Blooms, Fancy Flourishes, Scalloped A2 Vertical Die, Fresh Ink, Dual Dotted Border Dies. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Have a good one, 

St. Valentine

I know St. Valentine's Day gets a lot of flack nowadays. It seems to be the "in" thing to poo poo on this day of love. 

But I like it! A day meant to actually tell our loved ones that we love them is a good thing! I think we forget all too often that hearing the words is necessary. And seeing them written down is even better:)

This card is for my mom. She's amazing. She actually has EVERY valentine I've ever made her since I was a very, very small girl.

I credit my mom for fostering in me a love of handmade cards. She's the reason I'm a part of this hobby in the first place! As a little girl, she was adamant that I had to make greeting cards for my family on holidays. Mostly St. Valentine's Day, but also for other occasions as well. She would give me paper, lace doillies, pieces of foil, colored pencils, and scrap ribbons from her sewing basket and tell me to "make something nice for your grandmother" or whomever. *smile*

I love my mom. She's the best. 

This card uses stamps from Papertrey Ink called Fresh Bouquet.

I hope you have a lovely St. Valentine's Day and that you tell your loved ones how you feel!

On My Couch...again.

Good morning! 

So now that my foray back into blogging has happened (did you see yesterday's post?), I can't seem to stop. *smile*

I made these a few days ago as a customer's request.

She wanted something cheerful yet comforting. A bright plaid, patterned, comfy couch and chair seemed to fit the bill. I'm thinking I might need to make a few more of these:)

Stamps: On My Couch, and On My Couch additions (for the rug). Patterned papers by Lawn Fawn, and My Favorite Things.

Thanks for stopping by,