TESC129 Happy Birthday

I know that the calendar says "fall," but here in Massachusetts it was like summer today.  I think it was about 80-degrees today (at least) and when I went for a walk on my lunch hour, it was absolutely spectacular!  Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer!  I can hardly wait.  I'm not much of a winter girl, so anytime summer wants to hang around longer than usual is ok with me!  Now, on to the card...

For my card today, I turned to the Taylored Expressions sketch challenge.

I just love a card with some good geometric designs.  Well defined rectangles and circles just get my creative juices flowing.  My first idea with this sketch was to do a Christmas card, but I really wanted to use my Greenhouse Gala dp and that is anything BUT christmas-y.

I also attempted the rock-and-roll technique on the butterfly.  Now, I love rock-and-roll as much as the next gal, but I don't think I DO rock-and-roll all that well.  A little too much rock and not enough roll, I say to myself.  Practice, practice, practice.  Some day I'll get it right!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Is It a Card? Or...

My nephew is turning 16 this weekend.  Mind you, this is my youngest nephew which means that not only is he turning into a young man but I am turning into an old aunt!  He asked for some CDs for this birthday and even though I had no idea what I was buying, I gamely bought him one.  I had already decided that I was giving him this card, so I needed a something to give him the CD in.  Behold this "card."

The layout came from the Taylored Expressions sketch challenge this week (although I changed it to square instead of rectangular).  But this is not actually a card.  There is a flap that you can't see that folds over the front which turns this card into a very slim box that can hold a CD!

The CD was encased in a very thick cardboard (instead of the usual plastic case) so I was able to make this box very slim (only 1/4-inch thick).  I used dimensionals on the bottom half of the panel with the buttons which left some space for me to tuck the flap in and hold the box closed.  I think it's adorable.  I hope he does too (although he's a boy and could probably care less about these things.  However, I'm sure his mother will save it for another use)!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Thanks a Million

This week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge was really sweet.  Nice clean layers and a nice big space to use my thanks a million stamp from the Word Play stamp set.

And how about that groovy paper?  I feel like I've been transported back to the Partridge Family!  Seriously, the colors are great:  they make me happy!  Today was another scorcher here.  I tried to sit on the patio this afternoon and get some Vitamin D, but it was just so hot!  That's when I know it's time to retreat inside and spend some quality time with my stamps!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

TESC119 Hugs & Kisses

I really like this color combo.  I used Crushed Curry as my base (so sorry that it's gone) then followed that with Old Olive and the brand-new Cherry Cobbler.  The colors really quite dramatic in person.  This is my first card using the new colors (for some reason I've been hoarding them, surprise, surprise) but I figured that I had stared at them long enough and I needed to start using them.  I followed this really cool Taylored Expressions Sketch and used the super-cute Beautiful Wings embosslit.  I love how the butterflies seem to be flying through the grass!

Today was the first day in what is supposed to be a heat wave this week.  It was 90-something, but in the sun it felt like it was 100-something.  I love the summer, so I'm looking forward to the heat!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today! 

TESC117 Birthday

Once upon a time, I made a very similar card with this designer paper and color scheme.  I liked it well enough, but some of my friends recently let me know they really liked it.  So I decided to use the same flower and color scheme for this card.  I used the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge for my layout (a first for me, I think).  There's something very dramatic about a black and white color scheme.  I almost added a pop of color (bright pink or yellow) but decided that I liked it just the way it is.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!