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