How To Help?

If you are anything like me, you're worried and praying for the people in Japan and wishing you could do more. Holly from My Cute Stamps has a way that you can help while doing something that you love- shopping and stamping!

From Holly's blog, Creating Cupcakes:

My Cute stamps will be donating $7.99 (which is the retail price of this stamp) to the Japanese Relief effort for each Konnichiwa stamp set that is purchased this week. Help us raise some money by letting your friends on Facebook & Twitter know! And thank you for any donations.

Run over and get yours now!

Steph

Card Patterns Sketch 106!

Hi, there! I decided to play along with the latest Card Patterns Sketch this week- I love the sketch and was introduced to this AWESOME challenge blog through my fellow Market Street Stamps design team member Tracy who is also on the Card Patterns Design Team!

Here is the sketch this week:

And here is my card:

I love this one- I made it for my sweet niece and will be sending it her way around Easter time! Some of my favorite patterned paper on this one- PTI's Library Ledger (the aqua pattern) and PTI's Distressed Dots. And I scored around all the edges for a little more detail. The super cute bunny and sentiment are from the Jellybeans set from My Cute Stamps! And I gave up some of my wooden buttons on this one, too- that makes it extra special! Hehe!

A little personal stuff, too, today! Last Wednesday I took a leap and joined Weight Watchers. I'm doing it online, tracking all my food and activity and making some great, healthy changes to my diet. I had started to eat a little bit like a slob... nothing good, pretty much all junk. I already feel better, people. I have so much more energy and have kicked that slugish feeling to the curb. So... here's a peek at what I had for breakfast... yum.... yogurt, berries, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax.... yum... and only 5 points my fellow Weight Watchers.... haha!

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Steph

Cityscapes Are On the Rise in the Moxie Fab World!

Hi, there! Did you all catch this post over in the Moxie Fab World? If not, run on over and look at the awesome inspirational cityscapes Cath showcased! I knew I had to play along with this challenge as I have an awesome cityscape stamp from the My Cute Stamps set Eek! A Monster.

Here's the card:

I stamped the cityscape on Soft Stone cardstock with True Black ink, then I masked that cityscape and stamped over it again with Smokey Shadow ink and again in Brilliance Silver ink. I love the way the cityscape looks like buildings are peaking through from a distance. Really cool.

Then, I pulled out my Fly Away set from PTI! This cute little plane is perfect to fly over my cityscape with a special Happy Birthday message. I paper pieced it with some PTI Bitty Dot paper and then colored the other details of the plane with my Copic markers.

I stamped a quick row of Polka Dot Basics on the Summer Sunrise card base and then adhered the cityscape panel with foam tape.

Hope ya like it! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such sweet sweet comments!

Steph

My Cute Stamps Birthday Card!

Hi, there! I thought I'd pop in and show you guys a card I recently made for my grandfather's birthday- I hope he likes it as much as I do!

Here's the card:

I pulled out my Spunky Nature set from My Cute Stamps and stamped this leaf border along the side of the rustic white card front. I love the look of this and will definitely be doing it again soon! I had some help from my beloved PTI dies to frame the sentiment!

Thanks for stopping by today- have a beatiful day!

Steph

Totally Hues Challenge #1

Hey, guys! How is your Monday treating you? Mine is quiet... lol! Aden's in school, Austin's hanging out watching some toons, and I finally get to post some cards I made for Heather P.'s new color challenge! Can I tell you how excited I was to see Heather P. on the new Paper Smooches Design Team? And then to see her starting a new challenge? Super excited! I love her style and get a ton of inspiration from her work!

Here's the challenge in case ya missed it:

The first card I made is using My Cute Stamps. These super cute images are from the Little Forest Friends set. LOVE THAT OWL! Can't get enough. Did you see the new stamps over there- super cute! Mustaches... gonna be so cute on some super fun scrapbook layouts, I'm sure!

And then I got my Paper Smooches stamps in the mail.... I couldn't resist people... I made another card for this challenge... lol! I've been very "pop art-y" lately- probably a phase, but anyway, I'm diggin' it! Here's my card with the super sweet acorn from the Falling For You set! Trust me when I say that you will be seeing much more Paper Smooches on my blog very soon!

LOVED the challenge, Heather! Thanks for making me come out of my **neutral** comfort zone!

Steph

Thinking of You....

Hi, there! I'm here to share a super cute card I made for a friend that is going through a hard time. It's in the mail to her now -- I hope it brings a smile to her face!

Here's the card:

This bird cage is one of my all time favs from My Cute Stamps! I hung it with some MS ribbon I had in my stash. The floral branch, bird cage, and bird are all from the set Elegant Birds. Everything is stamped with Walnut Stain Distress Ink- loving this ink, too! The sentiment is from PTI's Through the Trees set!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Steph

Etsy shop THANK YOU's!

Hey, guys! If you have an etsy shop, or any other outlet to sell items, you know how important it is to include in your perfectly wrapped packages a little "thank you" for your customers! I pulled out my Little Forest Friends stamp set from My Cute Stamps the other day to do just that! These outline images are perfect for coloring with Copics and add A LOT of pop to a short and sweet little note card!

Here are the notecards I made- it took me maybe 30 minutes tops and these can very easily be reproduced in much less time!

First, I stamped and colored each of the little critters -- aren't they cute! I love these fun and whimsical doodles and I've had a blast coloring them! I paired them with Distressed Dots patterned paper by Papertrey Ink. Then I drew a dot dash pattern all around each of the notecards with my white gel pen. The little word bubble with a heart in it is from the Eek! A Monster set! Super cute!

Here are close-ups of each card:

These are going to be perfect for sending a quick thank you note out with my packages! I hope you like them as much as I do!

Steph

Happy New Year!

Hey, hey everyone! Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a great holiday break. We spent some time just BEING rather than running all over the place and it was really great. Today started back to normal -- hubby back to work after over a week off and Aden is off to school tomorrow! I gotta say... I'm ready to get back into the routine of everyday life!

I'm here today to show you some quick thank you cards I whipped up right after Christmas. They were made with two of my favorite things: Snow Cute from My Cute Stamps and Echo Park Paper Co's Everybody Loves Christmas line! I LOVE this little penguin!

Here are the cards:

So, so cute! AND SOOOO easy! I colored these cuties in with my Copics - I did the black one first... super cute, but very traditional. So... I decided my next one had to be a little more out of the box! How about a purple and hot pink penguin! Out of the box, for sure! The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Fillable Frames #5.

Here are individual shots of each card! I love these and think they are super sweet!

One other BIG thing I want to share with you is that I am using Becky Higgins' PROJECT LIFE this year! YAY! I came across Project Life through Michelle Wooderson's blog and was floored! It is so stylish, organized, and EASY! I have chosen to use the digital version because nothing is easier than dropping in pictures and typing in journaling to me- there's zero stress involved! While I am a huge fan of scrapbooking and documenting memories, I am EXTREMELY behind and am way to stressed about it. I'm starting fresh! I'm almost finished an album using last years Project Life version for 2010 -- and I started it a week ago! YAY! Check it out! It's an awesome product and I am super excited to make Project Life part of MY LIFE!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Steph

Spunky Nature + Blooms!

Hi there! I'm here to show you a super spring-y card today! I don't know about you, but Christmas is over and I'm looking forward to SPRING! Come on warm weather, gardening, and playing outside! I miss you! Doesn't help that my friend Mandy already received her Burpee catalog in the mail and I was already peaking through it and planning my garden. Yes... it is still December... lol. Anyway, I have the spring blooms bug and here's what happens when that happens:

So... I pulled out my new Spunky Nature set from My Cute Stamps. LOVE this set! Full of bold, solid floral and nature images! Very cute, indeed! I stamped the grass/stem image in Versamark ink on Ocean Tides cardstock. Then, I stamped the large stem image on Rustic Cream cardstock with Dark Chocolate ink. To top it all off, I used my new Bloom Builder die to cut the flower with Raspberry Fizz felt- super cute! The sentiment is from PTI's Everyday Button Bits set.

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by today!

Steph

Cute little cupcake!

Hey, guys! I don't know about you, but I've about had enough of Christmas cards so today I'm here to share a bright and cheery birthday card with you! When I first got my shipment of My Cute Stamps a couple of weeks ago, the first stamp that jumped out at me was this super cute cupcake- it just screamed glitter and paper piecing to me! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it the second I saw it! Here's my card:

I love, love, love this Little Cupcake from My Cute Stamps! I stamped it on some Dotty Biscotti patterned paper from Papertrey Ink and cut it out. Then, I stamped the cupcake again on some Shimmer White cardstock and cut out the top of the cupcake. Then, I glitter-fied (is that a word? is now!) it with Prisma glitter! Super, super cute! I adhered the cupcake on a shimmery Fillable Frames #5 die cut that I also ran through the Cuttlebug with the Polka Dot Basics Impression Plate! The sentiment is from the Birthday Bash Sentiments. I also love the look of the Plum Pudding Satin ribbon tied together with the twine! I love mixing the rustic, elegant, and cute elements together! So fun!

Here's a close-up of that super sweet cupcake!

I'm also entering this in the challenge over at Moxie Fab World Glitter is Glam! Check it out- you have until 1/3/2011 to enter!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Steph

My Cute Stamps in the house!

YAY! I got my My Cute Stamps sets in the mail yesterday and I couldn't wait to play around with them! These are super fun images and it'll be tons of fun playing around and seeing what I can do with them. Here's the first card I made with the set Elegant Birds.

I started by stamping the elegant bird cages on some patterned paper I found the other day when I was re-organizing. The paper is Making Memories Black Tie- don't think it's available anymore and I hadn't even touched it. Lovely how things get buried on my desk! LOL! Anyway, I found these super elegant, shimmery papers and stamped the birdcages on them and cut them out. Here's a close up of the different patterns I chose for the bird cages:



Very elegant, indeed.... Then, I cut a card base from PTI Smokey Shadow cardstock and made the grid pattern on the bottom of the card with my MS Score Board. The sentiment is from PTI's Fillable Frames #7 and is stamped on PTI White Shimmer cardstock. I arranged everything on the card base, adding some embroidery floss, ribbon, and rhinestones. Finally, I found a home for my super cute hot pink birdy and called it a day!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Steph

Big Announcement!

HI! I just wanted to stop in quickly and give you all a little NEWS! I recently recieved an e-mail from Holly Brooke Jones of My Cute Stamps informing me that I was chosen to be on their design team! I am very excited to work with these awesome stamps! Here is the blog post of the announcement! It looks like I am in VERY good company! I can't wait to play with these stamps!

Steph