Good Fortune Card

Hi there!  Today I'm in packing mode- I'm off to a weekend scrap retreat tomorrow!  I seriously can not wait!  Crafty time spent with friends is one of my favorite things!  No stress, no drama, just fun!  :)

Before I hit my long list of to-dos I thought I'd log on and share a card I made using a new Lawn Fawn Good Fortune set I picked up last week:

I think this set is adorable!  I am going to pack it with me to the retreat to use again! :)  I watercolored the cookie and chopsticks and used copic markers to add shadows on my box.  I flicked a little Studio Calico Shine spray on it, too for some sparkle.

Did you pick up any of the new Lawn Fawn sets?  My lss carries them and I happened to be there when they came in so I had the pick of the litter!  It was hard to pick because I wanted them all!  I ended up with quite a few though! :)

Well, I hope you have a great rest of the day! Thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Laughter Between Friends Card

I'm back this morning with another card I made over the weekend using the Feel Goods set by Stampin' Up!.  This one has a modern shabby chic feel to it:

I've paired this great sentiment from the Feel Goods set with the chevron oval from the Oh, Hello set- don't they work well together!  I've embossed the bottom part of my card front with the honeycomb embossing folder and added a little navy washi tape as well as a small strip of patterned paper by Teresa Collins under the oval.  I kept my embellishments simple- a bit of linen thread and another one of those great heart diecuts by Lawn Fawn with an epoxy dot by My Mind's Eye.  I've finished it off with a bit of splatter with my Georgia Peach Color Shine mist.

I seriously love this stamp set!  I see myself using it over and over again- you can't beat that!  I'd like to pair it with the chevrons from the Oh, Hello set next I think!

Well, I'm going to keep this short today- I'm helping my lss get ready for a retreat this weekend so I've got to get out the door early!  I hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Feel Goods Card

Hi there!

I hope your week is off to a good start!  Mine isn't going so bad- my friend delivered my girl scout cookie order this morning and I got some happy mail from Bossy Joscie this afternoon!  Pretty good day, I'd say!

I have been purchasing a lot of new crafty stuff lately and this weekend, I put it to good use and made a few cards!  Today I thought I'd share one featuring the Feels Good set by Stampin' Up!:

This sentiment set is such a stand out!  I love the kind words and the pretty font.  Here, I've paired it with some fun vintage looking bits.  The papers are from the He Said She Said 6x6 pad by Teresa Collins.  The heart is from my new hearts diecut from Lawn Fawn and the red epoxy dot is by My Minds Eye.  The miniature bottle cap is by Stampin' Up!- I squished it through my Big Shot and added some pretty paper and a rhinestone to the center.  The doily is also from Stampin' Up! and I'm so glad I picked these up in my last order- it is hard to find pretty doilies when I need them!

I really enjoyed this set and made a few more cards with it as well.  I'll be sharing them with you later in the week so I hope you stop by again!  Have a great afternoon!

-tessa

Winner Day for the Made with Love Hop!

Hello again! I'm back with the winner of the generous prize package from SRM Stickers!

Congratulations to Emily Keaton!  I hope you enjoy your new goodies!

Thank you SRM Stickers and thank you to everyone who left comments!  I really enjoyed reading them and having you all visit my blog!

-tessa

5 Favorites at 5 Layout

Good Morning!

Today I'm sharing my latest layout based on Inspired Blueprint's sketch #84!  I'm so happy with how it turned out:

I've kept things pretty clean for this one- I love the grid lines all the photos create!  The papers and flower embellishments are from the Family Ties line by Pebbles, Inc.  I love that blue!  I've added a few epoxy dots from My Mind's Eye and a label sticker from October Afternoon.  The alphabet stickers are by Lilybee Designs.

The 'favorites' part of the title is done with stamps from Lawn Fawn.  I stamped them with Versamark and heat embossed them in white.  I mimicked the look with the number five which was hand cut.  The white was added with my Signo White gel pen.

The photos are some of my favorites of Natalie last year around her 5th birthday.  We were asked to create a poster for her to take to preschool to show the class all her favorite things.  It was fun to see what she picked!

I always love Lisa's designs and this week's is no exception! I added one more photo instead of the journaling block on the bottom row- I couldn't leave out any of her favorites! :)   Here is the original sketch:

The design team members did some really cute things with the sketch this week so be sure to pop on over to the Inspired Blueprints blog to check them out!  I hope you have time to play along with us this week!

-tessa

Teddies for Baby Card

Good morning!

Hope your day is off to a good start!  I'm posting early today- my favorite little two year old will be here later today and I know I won't have time!  It's also Thursday which has turned into my main house cleaning day- I know... you are all jealous!

Before I share my card, I wanted to remind you that today is the last day to comment and win on the Made with Love giveaways.  Please see this post  for all the information!  A lovely prize package from SRM Stickers is up for grabs on my blog and each of the other blog hop participants have their own giveaways! Pretty fun stuff!

Today I'm sharing a quick baby card I made using some fun Stampin' Up! stamps:

I used the teddy bear image from the Baby Bundle set.  I stamped them in a not-so-perfect-on-purpose line and watercolored them using Soft Suede ink.  I used Crumb Cake for his nose and ears.  Next I added the sentiment from the Friendly Phrases set.  The patterned papers are from the Cakewalk 8x8 pad by October Aftenoon.

This card was super quick and easy to put together!  I've been in that kind of mood lately- trying to get more done in less time.  The life of a busy mom! :)

Well, I hope you enjoy your day!  Thanks for popping by!

-tessa

Watercolored Trio

Hello There!  I hope you are enjoying your day!  We had a three day weekend so I'm just trying to get back on track today!  I have a few errands to run and then I'm going to get started on painting my dining room!  I've been putting it off for a few weeks now so it's time...

Today I have a trio of cards to share with you.  These three only took about 30 minutes to put together!  Here they are:

I used the new Feeling Sentimental set by Stampin' Up!.  It's a freebie with Sale-a-bration this year and I loved the look of it!.  I paired it with the chevron oval from the Oh, Hello! set and some sentiments from other sets.  I was going for a messy look with the watercoloring and ink spatter- maybe that's why it only took 30 minutes to create them all! :)

Here is the telephone- my favorite in the bunch!  The spatter was done with my Warm Calico Mister Huey- I seem to reach for that one more than any other!

Here is the ferris wheel- I think this one was the funnest to watercolor!  When I watercolor, I use the residual ink that builds up on my ink pad lids and an aqua painter.  It is the easiest for me and there is no clean up!

And, last but not least, here is the bike- I feel like the twine is a little light for this card but it is the darkest red I own.  I'll have to add a nice, dark red twine to my shopping list!

I love how this little trio came together!  I had fun watercoloring and making it messy on purpose!  I'll have to do it again soon!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!  I'll let you know how the dining room turns out! :)

-tessa

Big Banner Birthday Card

Hi there!  I'm so glad that Friday is here again!  My hubby and I snook out to a movie this morning after we dropped the girls off at school for a little Valentine's date!  Hee!  We had a fun time and Identity Thief was hilarious!

If you didn't stop by yesterday and would like a chance to win an awesome prize package from SRM Stickers, please pop over to my Made with Love post and leave a comment.  The giveaway will be closed on February 21st.

Well, today I have a birthday card to share with you:

The large banner was made with a fun Jenni Bowlin stamp I've had in my stash for awhile now.  I stamped them onto colored cardstock using Versamark and embossed them with white embossing powder.  The cupcake was made using the Create a Cupcake stamp and matching punch.  I added a sticker button with a twine bow to finish it off.  The sticker button as well as the sentiment are from the Walnut Grove stickers by Pebbles, Inc.

This one was a lot of fun to make- because of the heat embossing!  I just love watching the powder melt and turn shiny!  Hee!  I might have to get that out again tonight!

Well, I hope you have a great weekend!  I'm planning a fun card making day with my Stampin' Up! friends on Saturday and I can't wait!!

-tessa

Made With Love

Hello and happy Valentine's day!  I'm glad you stopped by because today I'm hopping along with some of my amazing card-making friends!

If you're following along with the hop then you're probably here from Laurie Willison's blog.  Doesn't she make some great cards?  Her creations always make me smile!  Laurie  is one of the twenty friends I made during last summer's Gallery Idol contest put on by Paper Crafts Magazine.   Most of us are hopping today and we each have amazing givaways thanks to a long list of sponsors!  For more information on the participants and our generous sponsors, please check out our Facebook Event page.

I've made a few little things to share with you today- all featuring one of our great sponsors, SRM Stickers!  I've paired their great We've Got Your Boarder- Valentine sheet with the American Crafts XOXO line to make some fun Valentines treats.  First up is my card:

I really loved this floral patterned paper from the XOXO line by American Crafts.  I've used it on nearly all of my Valentine's Day projects this year!  The cute 3-D heart sticker is also from the same line.  I added the sentiment sticker and then highlighted it with some fun twine by the Twinery.  Sticker sentiments seem so easy and stress free after years of stamping!  Hee!

My second project is a little clear goodie box.  It is the perfect size for one of my favorite nail polishes- wouldn't that be a fun treat to receive? :)  I've decorated it with a couple of the SRM border strips and just a little bit of twine.  Doesn't take much to make these little boxes look good!

My last treat is a glassine bag filled with cookies.  For this, I used a few hearts and a strip of First Edition DSP left over from my banner project I shared yesterday.  I simply wrapped the bag with more of that fun twine to finish the project off.

SRM Stickers has been generous enough to provide me with a givaway!  They have given me an assortment of cardmaking products including Sticker Sentiments, Fancy Sticker Sentiments, and We've Got Your Boarders to give away to one lucky reader.  Please leave a comment for your chance to win! The contest closes on February 21st at 11pm.

From here, you'll want to head over to Nina Yang's blog.  She's got another great Valentine's Day project for you as well as another giveaway!  Pretty fun if you ask me!

I'm so glad you were able to visit today! I hope you are able to check out all the participants blogs today!  These ladies are truly talented! I hear there is also a secret grand prize hidden in someone's blog so leave lots of comments for a chance to win!

-tessa

Valentine Decor

Hello!

Hope you are having a great week so far!  Are you excited about Valentine's Day tomorrow?  My girls are! :)  Parties at school- need I say more?  Hee!  We've got their cards all signed and ready to go to their classmates and I think I'll pick up a special treat for them to take too.

Today I want to share a little bit of my Valentine's Day decor- I added two fun banners and some of the girls' art to my mantel downstairs:

The red hearts banner was crocheted using this tutorial.  I only did the first two rounds though... I didn't want to make them too big!  It ended up only taking an hour or so to complete after I figured out the first one.  If only all crochet projects would come together so quickly!

I created the paper banner bases by cutting 4x6" panels of the First Edition DSP by Stampin' Up!  I cut them into banner shapes and then added doily hearts cut out by my Cameo.  The plain hearts are also cut by my Cameo.  The floral paper is from the XOXO collection by American Crafts.  I added some faux stitching to the centers with my white Signo gel pen.

This is Zoey's artwork.  She has a great art teacher this year at school and I couldn't be happier with this little stitched piece!  Natalie created the painted heart (you can see it in the top picture) with the same teacher. :)  I'm a lucky mama!

I hope you have time to stop by tomorrow!  I'm celebrating Valentines here on my blog by hopping along with some of my very talented card-making friends!  We'll all be giving away some great prizes, too!  For more information, please stop by our Facebook event page.

Please enjoy the rest of your day and as always, thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

My Girls Layout for Inspired Blueprints #82

Good morning!

Today I have a layout to share using the newest Inspired Blueprints sketch, #82.  I've used it to scrap my most favorite picture of my two girls:

Since the pattern in the background was so bold, I decided to go for a cleaner style with this layout.  I've used the pretty 5th & Frolic line by Dear Lizzy for American Crafts- all of the papers and most of the embellishments are from this line. I loved the patterns in this line so much and I couldn't pass up the feathers or the sequins!  Hee!  They are so pretty!

The doily stamp is by Stampin' Up! and was stamped with Versamark and embossed using white embossing powder.  It looks so crisp against the yellow.

This sketch was so fun to work with- I am thankful for such wonderful inspiration!  I hope you have time to play along with us this week and don't forget to check out the rest of the design team's work as well- there are some beautiful takes on the sketch!

-tessa

Happy Travels Card

Hello!

Today is Thursday!  Not feeling well at the beginning of the week made the rest of the days fly by!  I felt a lot better yesterday and went shopping at Scrapdoodles, my local lss... I picked out so many cute things!  I can't wait to start making stuff with it all!

I thought I'd share a fun card I made using the Get Outta Town set by Paper Smooches:

I've paired this fun stamp set with the Just Because collection by Little Yellow Bicycle.  I loved the colors in this line!  I bought some for cards and some for a scrapbook page, too!  Actually, I bought some more of it again yesterday for a class!  Hee!  I guess I'm serious when I say loved!

The suitcases here have been colored using copics.  The flower was stamped onto patterned paper and fussy cut out.  I added a little coloring to it as well with the copics and my Signo white gel pen. In real life, you can see some sparkles thanks to my glitter pen on the case handles and on the center of the flower.

Well, I better go!  I'm making yummy chicken noodle soup for dinner and it's time to add the noodles! :)  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Dreaming Big

Hi there!

How's your day going so far?  I'm still battling my cold but feeling a little better today.  I'm hoping to finish a few projects that are half done... I have three scrapbook pages that need titles and journaling and two cards sketched out to make.  I'm hoping to at least finish something today!

Well, sick or not, I do have one card finished and ready to share!  This one features the Mimi in Paris set by Penny Black:

The patterned papers are by Teresa Collins.  I took the color scheme from them!  Don't you love the aqua and orange?  The sentiment is from Studio Calico.  I paired it with the Eiffel tower because I'm always dreaming of a trip to Paris! :)

Speaking of Teresa Collins, I am so excited- I get to meet her at the end of the month!  She will be teaching at the Scrapdoodles Retreat in Richmond, VA and I will be taking one of her great mini book classes!  Think she'll think I'm crazy if I bring my favorite patterned paper for her to sign?  Hee!  Fangirl!

Well, thanks for stopping by my blog today!

-tessa

Cyber Hello Card

Hello!
I'm posting a little later then I usually do- I am suffering from a cold and it has made me so tired today!  I am thankful that it is only a cold though... I know it could be worse so I won't complain! :)

Today I have a card inspired by the Clean and Simple Card Making 2 class I'm taking with Online Card Classes.  This was my homework for day two of the series, making a one layer card:

I decided to go for a sort of layered look, using the Cyber Cafe stamp set by Paper Smooches.  On natural white cardstock, I stamped with lighter colored inks for the background  and used darker colors with my main images.  I even added a little sparkle with my glitter pen to the steam!

I love the challenge of creating a one layer card!  It really is a way to let the stamps shine!  I have another scene building idea for a one layer card as well.  I can't decide to make it first or watch the next day of videos! :)  I am loving this class series by the way- it has been great!

Well, I better stop typing and get to making a card before it's time to make dinner!  Thanks for stopping by today and thank you for all your kind comments over the weekend!  I really do appreciate them!

-tessa