Thank You...PDCC20 70

This is 1 of 2 posts today :) To see post #2 - please scroll down :) Thanks!
Hi Everyone! As the The Play Date Cafe begins a new season of designers, we also bid farewell to Julie Campbell, who has been on the design team for the past 4 months. In celebration of Julie's new adventure & to welcome the new members of the DT, we are having a BLOG HOP & a GIVE-AWAY along with this week's challenge, PDCC20. For complete details HOP over to the Cafe! If you came here from Ruby 2 Shoes blog, you are in the right place :)Here is my take on Julie's wonderful inspiration photo:

I made a Thank You card using a fun Heartfelt Creations stamp. All the background paper was created from various stamps. I inked up the SU Paisley Background stamp with SU Lavender Lace ink & to create the other, I inked up the Hampton Art collage image with SU Going Grey ink. I love BIG background stamps to create my own custom paper :)

To add a bit of dimension, I stamped the flower image twice, colored several of the tulips, carefully cut them out, then adhered with a tiny glue dot. To create the little butterfly embellishment, I used the smallest of the Spellbinders Butterfly die & a scrap of the background paper previously mentioned then popped a Martha Stewart pearl in the center! Thanks for looking! Be Sweet!

On to the hop:

From the PDCC blog the order is as follows:

Cafe to Julie Campbell

Julie to Lisa Somerville

Lisa to Savannah O'Gwynn

Savannah to Sarah Anderson

Sarah to Stephanie Kraft

Stephanie to Ruby 2 Shoes

Ruby 2 Shoes to Mona Pendleton (that's me!)

Mona to Suzanne Czosek

Suzanne to Julie Ranae

Happy Hopping & I can't wait to see what you create! Be Sweet!

Here are THREE ways to give you the best chance to win:

1. Make sure you stop at each designer's blog and leave a comment.
There are ONLY 9 total and all you have to do is click on the name!

2. Become a follower of The Play Date Cafe...easy-peasy!

3. Play along with this week's color challenge
All the details on how to play are on the sidebar in The Cafe.
The winner will be chosen by random.org

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Heartfelt Creations GRS-97B, Stampin' Up, Hampton Art

Paper: Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento, Copics, Stampin' Up

Other: S4-229 Labels 5, S4-171 Butterflies, S4-110 Classic Oval LG, S4-111 Classic Scalloped Ovals LG, Offray ribbon, Martha Stewart pearls, EK Success punch, button & cord from stash

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The Play Date Cafe Challenge #17...PDCC17 41

Hi Everyone! Connor appreciated the card I made for him but probably not as much as the iTunes gift cards :) Today, it is time for another Creativity Challenge with the girls at The Play Date Cafe. This week, Julie Ranae chose the beautiful piece of art pictured below courtesy of Maria Madeiros for color inspiration.
Here is my Thinking of You card:I have to admit, these colors were quite a challenge for me. I pulled this older Stampin' Up set of my shelf & then things sort of fell into place. After staring at my stamps for quite awhile, hoping something would just "pop" into my head!! Ever have one of those days???

After stamping the bird & flower images, I used Copic markers to add color, then cut them out. I sort of curled the petals of the flowers for added dimension & added a pearl to each.

I thought the Rubber Stampede Music Background image was a good fit with the little bird image :) Spring has arrived in Phoenix, we are experiencing temps in the 70's already & the little birds are chirping their hearts out! I sat outside for awhile yesterday, enjoying the sounds of Spring :) Can you hear them yet where you live?

I hope you can join along with this week's creativity challenge. After you have made your project, please head on over to The Play Date Cafe & link your post to Mr. Linky. Be sure to see what all The Play Date Cafe DT girls have created to share with you for inspiration! Thanks for looking. Be Sweet!

Sarah Anderson,

Julie Campbell

Julie Ranae

Ingredients Used: Stamps: Stampin' Up Natural Beauty, Sincere Salutations, Rubber Stampede Music Background Paper: Papertrey Ink Rustic White, Dark Chocolate Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Copic Markers 0 Colorless Blender, Yooo Pale Lemon, W-1 Warm Gray, E77 Maroon, R27 Cadmium Red, R46 Strong Red, R29 Lipstick Red, E27 Africano Sprinkles: Spellbinders Labels One, Martha Stewart border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Stampin' Up punch, Offray ribbon, twine & button from stash

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Inspirational Snowmen - December PTI Blog Hop 49

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a peaceful Holiday :) It's hard to believe that this is the last PTI Blog Hop of 2009!!! This special addition of the PTI monthly Blog Hop is all about inspiration! The holiday season will be coming to a close & before we put away all those decorations, Nichole has challenged us to create a card or other type of project that reflects some of the holiday spirit found in our home for our challenge this month!

I LOVE snowmen!!!! One of my MOST cherished holiday decorations is the Snowman cookie jar & mug set that my sweet sister Tina gave me several years ago that you see above in the photograph.

Here is MY take on these adorable Snowmen:

When I first saw the PTI Holiday Button Bits set, I was hooked! I think this snowman image is one of the cutest :) I inked him up with Memento Tuxedo Black ink then colored him in using the various Copic markers mentioned in my Ingredients List below.

Although Christmas Day has passed, Winter is here to stay for awhile! Here in Phoenix today we are experiencing sunny blue skies but temps in the High 50's. Brrrr.... There is nothing like a hot steamy mug of Hot Cocoa stirred with a Chocolate Peppermint stick! Yummm... I made this gift set using the FREE MTME © Cutesy Cover template that I cut out using my Cricut Expressions. I custom sized this template to fit on a piece of SU Bashful Blue 12" x 12" cs. The cut measurements were 9.85"W x 11.11"W with the final measurements being 4"W x 5"H x 1.5"D. Perfect to hold these few packets of Hot Cocoa & Peppermint sticks with room to spare! After printing a sheet of the My Time Made Easy Pretty Printable © Throw Me A Line & The 12 Days of Snowflakes digital paper, I cut a few pieces then sewed them on to the large scalloped square.

For a bit of distressing, I dabbed on Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo ink in various places including the tips of the double layered Martha Stewart snowflakes! Thanks for hopping by! Can't wait to see all the other inspirational creations :) Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

My Time Made Easy © Pretty Packaging Cutesy Cover template

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, SU Delightful Decorations, Tags on Board Paper: My Time Made Easy © Pretty Printables Throw Me A Line & The 12 Days of Snowflakes, SU Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & VersaMark, Copic Markers: B32 Pale Blue, YR 68 Orange, C1 Cool Grey, R37 Carmine, Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo, SU Bashful Blue Sprinkles: Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, Spellbinders Scalloped Square, Circles & Circle dies, PTI red button, Making Memories hardware, Offray ribbon, Filigree embossing powder, white button & silver cord from stash

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Snow Boy Friend 35

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful day :) I had some free time to play with my crafty toys so I made this card. Sarah a t Live, Love & Scrap shared this super cute card, Sparklie Snowgirl Card & that is where I fell in love with these Snow Friends! I combined several challenges to make this card. In no particular order: For Sketch Inspiration, Splitcoast Stampers #258, SC258, For Color Inspiration, Embellish Magazine Color Challenge with Snowflakes and at Crazy 4 Challenges, the girls are challenging us to use SNOW on our creation this week, C4C15. It doesn't snow enough here in Phoenix to build Snow Friends - Do you build Snow Friends with your kiddos? Thanks for looking! Be Sweet!

Here is my Snow Boy Friend card:


I inked up a PTI Snow Swirls Snowflake image with VersaMark, stamped on the SU Chocolate Chip cs, then heat embossed using White Filigree embossing powder. I ran the PTI Lemon Tart cs through the Sizzix Big Shot Express using the Cuttlebug Snowflake EF for a little texture.I made my Snow Boy Friend using the Cricut Snow Friends cartridge. I cut my little guy 3" tall. I stamped his mittens & hat with SU Chocolate Chip ink applied to a PTI Bitty Dots Basics polk a dot image & added a bit of Ranger Antique Photo ink. The rim around his hat has some Martha Stewart flock on it but I wish I knew how to make it thicker! If anyone has suggestions, I would love to know your secret!!!

Ingredients Used: Stamps: PTI Snow Swirls, Bitty Dots Paper: PTI Kraft, Lemon, Aqua Mist, SU Chocolate Chip, Whisper White Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Ranger Antique Photo, VersaMark Sprinkles: Cricut Snow Friends, SU Curly Label Punch, silver ribbon, brads, Martha Stewart Snowflake punches, Offray ribbon, Making Memories hardware, Cricut Expression, Filigree white embossing powder, Cuttlebug Snowflake EF, buttons from stash, PTI Aqua Mist ribbon, EK Success border punch, Martha Stewart flock

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Snow Angel 29

Hi Girls! This is a VERY SPECIAL post. A fellow stamper, Sarah Anderson, (a DT member of the Pink Cat Studio), & her family are experiencing the loss of their 3 year old son Henry. Little Henry was unable to overcome a virus that made him ill last week. Henry loved his local zoo and visited it almost every day in the summer. As a memorial, trees will be planted there in his honor.

Just Us Girls is conducting a special challenge to all of you out there who would like to help with this cause. Basically to play along, all you need to do is purchase the special stamp called Henry, The Snow Angel Fairy digital stamp (it's only $3.00) designed by Paper Makeup Stamps, as a tribute to Henry, make a card & post it to the Mr. Linky on the "Just Us Girls" blog. Please visit the Just Us Girls site for ALL the details as well as, ALL the JUGS DT girls blogs for complete instructions on how they created their cards! Thank You for your visit today, I hope you can join along for this GREAT cause! I hope you can keep Henry & his family in your thoughts & prayers :) Be Sweet!

For sketch inspiration, I used this week's Mercy's fun sketch #47, MTSC47. I did break out my sewing machine yesterday but I did the few cross-stitches on this card by hand :)

From this close-up view, you can really get a great view of ALL the detail in this cute Henry Snow Angel digital stamp! :)

This is a peek at all the Copic markers I used to color Henry. I personally like the Copic Sketch style of marker, as I find it easy to color between those itty bitty lines with the fine brush tip :)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Sarah is a DT member for The Pink Cat Studio. The Pink Cat Studio has also created a digital stamp set to help raise money for Henry's family. If you would like to contribute more to this cause, please visit the PCS for complete details.

Ingredients Used: Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps digital stamp: Henry, The Snow Angel Fairy, SU So Many Scallops, PTI Winter Swirls Paper: K&Company DP, PTI Aqua Mist, SU Whisper White, Certainly Celery Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Copic Markers E00 Skin White, B00 Frost Blue, BG45 Nile Blue, C1 Cool Gray, O Colorless Blender, E27 Africano, E55 Light Camel, G21 Lime Green, Y000 Pale Lemon, R20 Blush Sprinkles: American Crafts ribbon, button from stash, Making Memories crystal brad & eyelet, SU punches & cord, Spellbinders Rectangle Scalloped Nesties, Cuttlebug Snowflake EF,

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What is Red & White & Black ALL over? 34

Hi Ladies! My Christmas Card! Yep that's right! When I first saw these Fun, Bright, Bold colors for this week's Creativity Challenge #3, PDCC03, hosted by Alison at The Play Date Cafe, I thought what the heck am I going to make with these? With Christmas on my mind, Snowmen, Penguins & Santa Claus were the first images that popped in my head then I thought oooo, how about a bright red vintagey Ornament?! I combined these Fun colors with Mercy's awesome sketch from this week's Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #46, MTSC46. If you haven't already, I recommend that you visit these two sites & view the eye candy that the DT's have created & browse the galleries to see what others have made to play along! :) Thanks for looking! Be Sweet!

Here's my Merry Christmas card:

Using a sponge dauber inked up with Ranger/Tim Holtz Antique photo ink, I smudged the edges to give the card an overall Vintagey look as well as the snowflakes & the tag.
To give the snowflakes dimension, I layered them x 2 & "fluffed" them up bit then put a Making Memories red crystal brad in the center. Using the Cuttlebug Snowflake EF, I gave the white oval some dimension.
Ingredients Used: Stamps: PTI Vintage Ornaments, SU Fancy Flexible Sayings, Rubber Stampede Music Background Paper: SU Basic Black, Whisper White, PTI Pure Poppy Ink: SU Basic Black, Real Red, Ranger/Tim Holtz Antique Photo Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Ovals & Oval dies, Martha Stewart Snowflake punches x 2, Sizzix Oval die, Offray ribbon, Making Memories crystal brads, SU silver cord, Cuttlebug Snowflake EF, buttons from stash

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Blissful Butterflies 20

Hi Ladies! Happy November 1st :) I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! We will be heading off to the Cajun Festival today with the kiddos. I am a bit worried about my step son finding something that he likes to eat - he has a such a limited diet & has more dislikes than likes :( One day soon, I know he will be eating us out of house & home as the saying goes :)
Moving on to the crafty chit chat...Not only do I LOVE to browse Lauren Meader's blog for AMAZING crafty inspiration but I really enjoy reading her stories about her lil' family happenings that she shares with all of us :) For those of you who are not familiar with Lauren, she is the TALENTED designer/creator of the My Timeless Templates featured by Papertrey Ink! Well, when I stopped at her blog the other day to see what she has been up to, I read that she is being featured as a CELEBRITY designer on the Limelight Papercrafts Blog! Lauren designed the sketch for the Limelight Papercrafts Sketch Challenge #33, LLPC033 & she is playing along :) There is NO WAY I could play along in a challenge where Lauren is the CELEBRITY & not make one of her templates!!! We were challenged to incorporate BUTTERFLIES into our creations if we have them! I'd love to know if you have tried one of Lauren' Templates & if so, what is your favorite? Thanks for looking! Be Sweet!


Here is my Blissful Butterfly set:I used the DP from DCWV Garden Party stack for my background paper. This was one of those stacks that I just had to have! It has been sitting in my craft closet, on a shelf since Spring! UNTOUCHED LOLIt was difficult to make the butterflies show up, so I layered them x2 using a Martha Stewart punch. After making antennae from a piece of twine, I fastened the butterflies to the card with a brad. Then I could separate them to show their dimension :) I think "things" are more eye pleasing with dimension!
Lauren's Fold N' Go template is one of my favorites :) It makes for a great gift bag! I made a lil' matching tag that you see dangling off the Fold N' Go handle.To make the lighter pink butterfly of the two, I inked up the teeny weeny dot image from the PTI Polka Dot Basics II set with VersaMark, stamped it then embossed using White Filigree embossing powder.

The girls at Pile It On! invited me to be their Guest Designer for the month of November :) For those of you who are not familiar with Pile It On!, please allow me to share a little bit about them. They are a challenge site & the theory behind Pile It On! is to create cards, scrapbook pages or even altered items using MORE THAN ONE challenge!
For this Many Thanks card I used the following Challenges:
Pile It On! - Thank You
Limelight Papercrafts - Sketch
Whimsical Ink - Embossing
Daring Cardmakers - Get Punchy With It

Please be sure to visit ALL of the sites I have mentioned here today for oodles & oodles of inspiration!

Ingredients Used: Lauren Meaders/PTI My Timeless Template Fold 'N Go Stamps: SU Best Yet, Natural Beauty PTI Polka Dot Basics II Paper: SU Pink Piroette, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip DCWV Garden Party DP Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, VersaMark Sprinkles: Offray ribbon, generic hardware, PTI buttons & twine, Martha Stewart punch, Spellbinders Label 1 dies, EK Success punches, brads from stash, Filigree embossing powder, Cuttlebug EF

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Lil' Franky 25

Hi Everyone! This past weekend I was on Fall Break vacation in Southern California with my Dear Hubby & stepkids :) We went to Walt Disney Land for a day. I would like to share some of my favorite photos from our trip:

Here is me & my honey in front of the HUGE Mickey Jack-O-Lantern:

Me, Meredith & Connor (& Mickey):

This is a faux pumpkin carving of Mickey on top of the Railway House:

I loved this wagon full of fall foliage & pumpkins:

My inspiration for my Lil' Franky card came from my visit to Disney :) I squeezed 3 challenges in this card! 1. For Sketch inspiration, I used the fun Crazy 4 Challenges Sketch Challenge 7 C4C7, 2. Pile it on! Challenge #19 - Ready For Halloween & 3. Humble Pie Stamps, Buttons & Bling challenge. When my DH saw this card, he asked me why Frankenstein was coming out of a pumpkin?! He went on to say "You're not going to put that on your blog are you?" Sometimes, I wish he wasn't so brutally honest! I said "Why YES I am!" I'd love to know if you are ready for Halloween? Be Sweet!

Here is my Lil' Franky card:

I stamped the background paper with SU Lavender Lace ink & PTI Polka Dot Basics II. I have yet to master my lil' craft sewing machine, so I hand stitch on my cards LOL.

Using a SU oval punch, I punched 5 ovals, sponged the edges with SU Only Orange ink, then layered & adhered them together with a 2 way glue pen. The Scalloped circle was a lil' plain so I punched holes around the perimeter using the Crop-A-Dile II.

Ingredients Used: Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basics II, Hero Arts Frankenstein, Studio G "Cute As A Pumpkin" $1 stamp Paper: My Mind's Eye DP, SU Lavender Lace, Only Orange, Green Galore, Whisper White Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Only Orange, Lavender Lace, Copic Markers: Lime Green G21, Yellowish Green YG06, Colorless Blender 0, Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Circle & Circle, paper punch from stash, PTI ribbon, twine & button, Making Memories brads, Martha Stewart glitter, SU Heat & Stick powder, Oval paper punch, Sizzix jack-o-lantern die, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF

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From Our House To Yours 23

Hi Everyone! It is my hopes to get a JUMP start on my Christmas card making this year! LOL I found this cuuute Basic Grey DP from the Eskimo Kisses line on my last trip to my LSS. It had such a HOMEY appeal to me :) I paired it with this HOME image from We R Memory Keepers that cost a mere 99 cents! For Sketch Inspiration, I used Jen del Murro's awesome Sketch For You To Try which can be found at iheart2stamp.com I was also able to combine Pile it on's Challenge #18 - Three Dimensional :) Whether you are looking for some inspiration or a sketch to try, I recommend visiting both these sites as you will not be disappointed with all the DT examples as well as the other participants submissions! I'd love to know if you are getting a JUMP start on your Holiday cards/gifts? Be Sweet!

Here is my From Our House To Yours card & treat bag tag:

This Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP looks like it had freshly snowed on this village, so I used my Martha Stewart punches x 3, layered them x 2 & sewed a button right smack in the center of each :)

In this bird's eye view pic, the Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing really shows up on the white center circle behind the stamped house images as well as the Swiss Dots embossing on the light blue strips x 3.

I made this coordinating tag. I love how such a simple lil' tag can really dress up a plain cellophane bag of treats!

Ingredients Used: Stamps: We R Memory Keepers Home, SU Sweet Season, To You & Yours Paper: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP, SU Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pretty In Pink, Old Olive, Bazzill Pomegranate Ink: SU Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Circle & Circle nesties, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots & Snowflake EF, SU cord, Martha Stewart punches, PTI buttons, generic red button, Offray ribbon, Making Memories brads, We R Memory Keepers eyelet & Crop a dile 11,

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