Yesterday afternoon I had a chance to sit down and stamp another card.  It’s a good thing since I have a Building Representative Meeting this morning after dropping Evan off at school.  I combined the Mojo Monday 154 Sketch Challenge with the Color Throwdown 108.

I really like the soft subtle colors and I think this card has an elegant feel.  The Upsy Daisy image was stamped in Crumb Cake after being stamped off once and then I used an AquaPainter to add the soft So Saffron “glow” around the flowers.  The sentiment is from Oval All.

Well I’m off to head out the door with the kids.  Have a great Thursday!

Today finally feels a bit like fall and this morning we got some rain.  I hope that more rain is on the way because we desperately need it.  After dropping Evan off at school I came home to do the Sketch Challenge on SCS.  I paired it with Greeting Card Kids and Wicked Cool for this fun Halloween card.

The base is Rich Razzleberry.  I took a piece of Whisper White and used the Distressed Texturz plate on it before spraying it with Gold Glow Smootch Spritz and then doodled around the edge with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker.  I used a ruler to keep my lines straight.  I then stamped and watercolored in my Greeting Card Kids image.  I just love this stamp set.  It’s definitely a must have! I matted the layer on Rich Razzleberry.  The dsp is from the Wicked Fun Specialty pack and the striped layer is matted with Basic Black ink.  I added the small Pumpkin Pie oval with the Wicked Cool sentiment stamped in Rich Razzleberry.  The card is finished off with a Brights brad and Pumpkin Pie taffeta ribbon.

Well we are getting ready for another foster dog!  Her name is Cookie and she looks just like Bandit.  It looks like she’ll be arriving tomorrow so I may have my plate a little more full for the next few days.  My sister and my parents dog are leaving on Saturday, so then hopefully things will calm down a bit.  I hope to be back tomorrow with another project though!

I apologize for not getting a post up yesterday.  My sister is staying with us and I took on a big outdoor project this weekend.  I decided on Saturday morning that I’d go to the local nursery to attend their tree auction.  Each year they auction of shrubs and trees and I’ve never had a chance to attend.  I ended up with the winning bid on 2 Serviceberry trees.  So on Saturday Roger and I hauled home two trees and planted them.  I’m not kidding when I say that it’s exhausting work.  Sunday we barely did anything besides a few errands and yesterday I had a dentist appointment and I volunteered for the school district with Market Day pick up.

Today I decided to combine Mercy’s Tuesday Sketch #89 with the color challenge at SCS.  This color combo was a stretch for me – Melon Mambo, More Mustard and Baja Breeze.  I can’t say it’s something I would have come up with on my own, but I like the way the card turned out.  I used Four of a Kind from Papertrey Ink.

I have some exciting news to share with you!  I’ve accepted a Design Team position for SUO Challenges.  If you don’t know SUO stands for Stampin’ Up! Only.  The challenges will start next month on September 7th.  I am no longer a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator but these challenges are for demonstrators and customers alike that enjoy using Stampin’ Up! products.  I hope you’ll check the challenges out and play along with us.  You can find the challenge blog here.  Challenges will take place every other Tuesday.

This week seems to have gone by really quickly. I think it’s because Colin and Evan are both in school 5 days a week and I’m not having to entertain them all of their waking hours.  Even though they are back I’m still getting into my stamping routine. I planned on having my Sketch for You to Try card for Jen done much earlier in the week, but honestly this one had me stumped.  I love working with circles, but when it comes to numerous circles on a card I don’t often do too well with them.  I don’t know why either.

Then I decided that my card needed some sort of flower for the center and this large ruffled Pretty in Pink rose was born.  I used satin ribbon with a running stitch up the center to ruffle it and then just sort of played with it until it looked like a good flower.  I then decided to make an entire card based on ribbon flowers so I made the smaller buds out of 12 inches of Very Vanilla satin ribbon.  The only stamping on my card is the “for you” tag from the All Holidays stamp set.

Here is the sketch Jen provided for us this week.  I hope I did it justice.

I hope you have a chance to play along with us! If you need more inspiration check out the rest of the amazing Sketch for You to Try Sisters blogs:

Jen del Muro
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O’Brien
Megan Lock
Susan Liles
Kelly Lunceford
Sonja Chirstoph
Jodi Collins
Carole Burrage
and the Designer of the Month, Ashley Nguyen Newell

We have another soccer game today. I hope the kids aren’t too tired from the one last night. Colin is really enjoying his team and it’s fun to watch him come out of his shell and try other positions. He used to only like goalie and then last year he liked defense. This year he is enjoying playing midfield and offense.  Evan is looking forward to being old enough to play next year too.

All Supplies are Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Concord Crush, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Pretty in Pink satin ribbon, Very Vanilla satin ribbon, sticky strip, crimper, 1 3/4″ circle punch, 1″ circle punch, half pearls, word window punch

Today I have a quick clean and simple card using Fall to Layout 105.  I chose to work with Concord Crush, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White. The stamp sets is Year of Flowers Lily of the Valley from Papertrey Ink.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my Sketch for You to Try card.

Today is a big day for Bandit and he’s excited about it.  I’ve packed up his crate and it’s going back to the house we borrowed it from.  When we first got him our crate was lent to someone so we in turn borrowed one to get us through until we got ours back.  In the past two weeks we’ve slowly been leaving him out when we aren’t home and he’s been doing well.  Therefore we don’t feel like we need the borrowed crate anymore.  We do have ours back to fall back on if we do need it.  Bandit is happy because he’s never been a fan of the crate anyway.  He was happy to see it folded up and leaving the house this morning.

That brings me to my card using bird cages.  I think these are much cuter than the one Bandit was in.  It was HUGE and took up a lot of space in our living room.  I recently got Aviary and it was one of the first sets on my wish list.  I paired it up with the Sketch Challenge from SCS.  I paired it with the sentiment from Picture This. The base is Tempting Turquoise and then I layered So Saffron with Crumb Cake that was run through the Finial Press embossing folder.  I used a sponge dauber and Whisper White craft ink to highlight the embossed layer and soften it a bit.  The Old Olive layer was stamped with the Elegance standard wheel. The flower was crocheted by my Mom and I used a Brights Button in the center of it.

I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday!  This week just flew by.  Colin has two soccer games this weekend, but that’s all we have planned.  I can’t wait to sit back and relax.

I have to admit I’m so happy Colin and Evan are back in school. It makes it so much easier to get a few things done when I’m all by myself. However yesterday I didn’t get any stamping done at all. I guess I’m lucky that I had this card on hand yet to show you. After drop off today I don’t have anything to do so I’m going to get stamps inky and onto paper.

Once again I used the Papertrey Ink set Four of a Kind.  This time I used it with a clean and simple Fall to Layout 103.  The colors are Baja Breeze, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla.  I used Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Early Espresso for the ink colors.  The ribbon is retired Stampin’ Up! and I stuck on a butterfly that was laying on my desk along with some half pearls.  The main image panel is raised on dimensionals.

We are getting ready to run out of the door for school so this will be a quick post today.  When I saw the sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You I thought it would work perfectly with the Library Card and library pocket die from Papertrey Ink.  I also used It’s Official and Four of a Kind on the background to give some more texture to it.  The apple is Tart and Tangy from Stampin’ Up!.  I love the combination of Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Vanilla along with some Love Note designer series paper.  I added some Natural Hemp Twine and Neutrals buttons to finish off the card.

Well I have to search for shoes with Colin.  Have a great Tuesday!

ETA: Colin’s Shoes were in the shoe rack and it was the first place I sent him.  Apparently only I can see shoes on the rack.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink: It’s Official, Four of a Kind, Library Card Stampin’ Up!: Tart and Tangy
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Love Letters dsp,
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Big Shot, Library Pocket die, Dimensional, Texturz Plate, Neutrals buttons, Natural Hemp Twine

Well we had a blast at our 2nd Annual Block Party. The kids called it quits about 9 that night, but seemed to have enough energy to be up bright and early on Sunday morning.  We did our normal church and donut routine before heading out to the state park to hike.  We decided to take a different trail and see a different part of the park.  Evan didn’t last long and we were only outside for about an hour before he requested to leave.  He must have been tired because he turned down going to the park on the way out.  He crashed in the car minutes from home and was out for a few hours for a nap.  They are excited to see what is planned for next year.

I made this card last week for one of the Anni-Verve-sary sketches. I used Elegant Soiree designer series paper with the CHA exclusive Papertrey Ink stamp set Four of a Kind. The other items are in my supply list.

I’m glad that it’s back to school for both of the boys.  Evan was raring to go and was upset and thought I left him when I took some recycling out to the bin this morning.  I’m glad he is enjoying school so much this year.  He went last year, but I think he just went through the routine and didn’t pay too much attention to the other kids.  This year he is talking about his friends in the class and things that they have done.  Colin is back to full days and he has loved school since he started in his 3 year old preschool class.  It’s hard to believe that he’s now in 2nd grade.

Have a fabulous Monday!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink: Four of a Kind
Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Elegant Soiree dsp, Soft Suede
Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red
Accessories: Natural Hemp Twine, dimensionals, Neutrals button, large and scallop oval punches, corner rounder

I’m trying to figure out how every year we get the first time slot for team photos. I like the early games to avoid the heat, but the early line up for photos is always hard. After soccer we’ll have some time to stay cool until our neighborhood block party starts. The boys are super excited because not only do they get to play with all of their friends, they also get to play in the middle of the street. The hard part comes tomorrow when the realize the street is once again off limits.

This week Jen’s Sketch for You to Try is sponsored by The Greeting Farm. With the start of school there is always a slew of birthday party invitations. It seems like I am always in need of birthday cards for kids.  I couldn’t decide which digital images to use so I made 2 cards for this week.  I used the same designer series paper, but varied between Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue on my cards.  This first card uses Cupcake Anya. Isn’t she adorable! I love this image and had a blast watercoloring her.

My second card uses Birthday Boy Ian. I love the expression on his face as he’s surrounded by a pile of presents. My boys look just like this on their birthday but the paper soon starts flying and I’m picking up scraps for days.  This card uses the Lattice embossing folder and natural hemp twine along with a retired Bold Brights button.

Here is the sketch for this week.  I hope you have a chance to play along with us.
I’m sure you’ll more Sketch for You to Try inspiration using The Greeting Farm images.  Here is the rest of the Sketch for You to Try Team:

Jen del Muro
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O’Brien
Megan Lock
Susan Liles
Kelly Lunceford
Sonja Chirstoph
Jodi Collins
Carole Burrage
and the Designer of the Month, Ashley Nguyen Newell

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with another card.