New Whimsie Doodles For You!!

Wohoo!! It is that time of the month again!

(OK, well maybe that doesn't sound right!)  It is however time for another 

New Release of  Whimsie Doodle Stamps!

Yesterday you got to see some sneak peeks of what was to come so are you ready to see the whole thing today?  All right well get ready to be excited because Melyssa has done it again!

My first card uses the new digistamp called Standing Baby Bear...

The DP is from the new DCWV paper pack called the Crafty Stack.  The musical score background stamp is from the {ippity} stamp set called Music of My Heart. 

I used the Baby Bear from the set called Baby Bear Standing, but you can also get the sitting version!.

Standing and Sitting Baby Bears

And some adorable sentiments like the one I used are also being released!

Baby Sentiments Digital Stamp Set

The next card I have to share with you is one I call Berry Sweet that comes from the new set called So Sweet!

I am not sure who makes the DP I used, but to create the layered border, I used my new Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop border on three coordinating colors and them layered them while staggering the scallops. 

I colored the cherries using my Copic Markers and the button I used is from the black package I bought while at CHA from Clear and Simple Stamps.  I paper pieced the towel that hangs from the jar.  The adorable label is interchangeable with the other sentiments you see below. 

And guess what??  This set is available in RED RUBBER!!

How Sweet Rubber Stamp Set

And finally how about a set just in time for St. Patty's Day?  In fact that is the name of this set!  

The DP is from the MME Home paper pack.  I colored in the pot of gold and rainbow with Copic markers.  I printed the image twice once to print the image with the cloud empty and then the second time so that the sentiment would fit inside the cloud.  I used the color combo from this week's color challenge CC260 at SCS which was to use Basic Gray, Crushes Curry and Always Artichoke and conveniently were the exact colors from the MME collection that I used.

St. Patty's Day Digistamp set

Like what you see?  Well then head right on over to the  

Whimsie Doodles Store 

to get yourself some!

Be sure to come back by 8am EST to see my Friends with Flair post for Unity!

The Combo Queen is at it Again!!

I knew that if I tried hard enough I would be able to make one card that combined FOUR challenges into one and TODAY was my lucky day!! LOL!!

I have had a great day with my daughter Leah in the scraproom... she was helping me out and we got two cards finished. We also went out to lunch and ran some errands picking up St Patrick's Day goodies for Tuesday!

Here is the first one...

This card combines 4 challenges in one!!! The first challenge was from SCS Limited Supplies Challenge where we had to use a bug somewhere on our card and also limit the card to four layers and use no Patterned Paper (I hope the card base doesn't count as a layer, because I left it showing and it makes it look like a layer... and I also hope that we were allowed to stamp images onto paper to make our own PP otherwise, I may have disqualified myself!)

The second challenge was from Kristina Werner's Color Challenge which was to use Basic Black, Basic Gray and White in your creation.

The third challenge was from No Time to Stamp where we were to include a white mat on our card!

And the fourth challenge was from Viva La Verve Friday Sketches where Julee provided yet another fabulous sketch to use!

My card really came together quickly after I stamped the background paper with two tiny SU bee stamps that I had. The main image is from the Friends Are Like Flowers Set. The Sentiment on the front was made on the computer using the "O Whoa DNA" font that can be found for free here. The inside sentiment (not shown) says "With a BIRTHDAY Hi!!"

The ribbon and white brads were from my stash and I am not sure who they are made by... sorry!

The next card I made is another one of my SPD cards. I only have four days left and as of today I still had six cards to make! Thankfully most of the recipients are local and so mailing time won't be an issue!

Of course I used more challenges to complete this card too! If you haven't used challenges yet, you will see that they really do help by either giving you a framework to base your card off of, or at least decreasing the amount of choice you would otherwise have when starting to create a card! I really love the sketch challenges, but I am becoming more fond of all of them! They really do "challenge" me!! Hehe!!!

Anyway, here is my latest St Patty's Day card...

The Fine Print: DP: DCWV and BG; CS: GP; Ribbon: BG; Flowers: Prima; Stamps: Shamrock: Vap Scrap ($1), Sentiment: Custer's Last Stamp, Brads: Bazzill; Photo corner: unknown; Ink: Amuse Black ink and Copic Markers. Faux piercing.

This card uses three challenges technically, but since two different challenges were the same one, I will only say that I actually used two challenges on this one. LOL!

The first one is the challenge from Friday Sketches where they gave us the great sketch to use.

The second (and third) challenges from SCS Way to Use It Challenge and also the one from Stamp Something were "Going Green" challenges requiring us to use the color green on our card! Of course the color green comes into play perfectly for me since I needed to get more SPD cards done!

Well, it is Friday night after 5pm here in FL and Leah and I are off to act like true Floridians and have a nice drink over looking the water at one of our favorite night spots in Tarpon Springs! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a little more time to complete all my SPD cards and even some time for some much needed yard work!!

Have an awesome night and a great weekend... may your bucket overflow with fruity drinks while watching the sunset!

Warm, Wonderful Weekend

My wonderful husband turned 44 on Saturday and we went away for the whole weekend to celebrate it! It was very special because we were able to go without the kids, all by ourselves. We spent Friday and all day Saturday together enjoying some relaxation and time kayaking on the Homossassa River. Our best friends Chad and Tiffani joined us for Tom's birthday celebration on Saturday night. We had so much fun! My cheeks were hurting from laughing and smiling so much! We had surf and turf for dinner that the guys grilled up and then we went out to a couple of local bars for some dancing and more laughing! Here are a couple of photos from our trip...

Tom kayaking down the Homossassa River.

Tom fishing from his kayak! He didn't catch anything! :-(

Relaxing at our campsite!

Tiffani helping to get dinner ready on Saturday!

I didn't end up bringing any of my images to color this weekend. I wanted Tom to get most of my attention... so I was really ready to stamp when I got home. We were pretty tired by the time we got home, so I didn't get a lot done in my scrap room, but I did manage to get one card made for St Patrick's Day!

This card combines the Limited Supplies Challenge LSC210 which limited the amount of time we could spend on our card to thirty minutes. (For me, that is hard!!)

The other challenge FS109 was to CASE the feautured stamper Judy. You can see her gallery here. This is the card of hers that I CASED.

And here is the card I created...

By combining these two challenges I was able to create a cute card that I needed for St Patricks Day in a very short amount of time. I like how it turned out even though it is a little plane Jane!

Well I need to hit the sack and catch up on little sleep. Not only were we out late last night, but we also lost an hour with Daylight Savings Time!

Have a great night and may your bucket always overflow with fond memories with your friends!

Kiss Me I'm Irish! I really am!!!

I know that most people probably don't get into St. Patrick's Day a lot, but I think it is a great holiday because I am Irish! With a name like Kelly Erin, there is no denying my roots! LOL! The part of me that is Irish comes from my dad's side of the family! The other part of me is German from my mom's side!

Since I have been trying to stay in better communication with my family and friends by sending out more cards this year, I have more St. Patrick's Day cards to complete. I only have two done so far, and I need five just to cover my kids and my husband!!

So, thank goodness for some more challenges that were posted today... I found just the right inspiration to get another SPD card done!

This card also combines two challenges. I feel like I am becoming the queen of combining! I have combined three in one already, maybe I need to try for four someday! Hehe!!

The first challenge is from SCS, the Way to Use It Challenge (WT208) posted today (I can't share a link to them because the site is down for maintenance right now!) . We were asked to make an ATC (Artist's Trading Card) for this challenge. I have never made one before, but I have always thought that they were cute and very creative. They are kind of like making a mini card. They measure only 2.5 x 3.5 inches. I have typically felt that the true "artsy" type people make the best ones, but when I realized I could decorate it just like I would a card, I decided today was the day that I would create one.

Here is my first ATC ever... It is called "Kiss Me I'm Irish"

I know the color combo is kind of reminiscent of Christmas time, but I thought the punch of red worked since I was using it for the reference to kissing! It's cute and all, but since I don't consider myself an artist, and I don't have any artist friends who want to trade ATC's with me, I decided that my ATC would be the perfect feature image for a card!



That is where the second challenge comes in. This challenge is from a new site that is going to be offering sketches every Thursday. The site is called Stamps and Smiles blog and they also have a store where they have just started selling some really cute stamps. You should check out their easter collections just released. I think you will recognize many of the DT members offering up the challenge examples.





Here is the sketch...

And here is what I came up with from it...

The Fine Print: DP: Green Dots (DCWV, Nursery Baby Boy collection), Shamrock (Stemma); CS: Red (WorldWin), White (GP); Stamps: Kiss Me I'm Irish (Studio G), Heart (Autumn Leaves); Red Embossing Powder (Stampendous); Red Stickles; White Brads (Bazzill); White Grograin Ribbon (Ebay purchase); Machine Stitching; Ink: Amuse and Copic Markers; Shamrock Embellishment (Joann's).

To keep the balance of the red elements, I did flip the top panel to the bottom changing up the sketch just a bit. But it was much more pleasing to the eye in doing that and it kept the card from looking too top heavy!

For the next couple of days I won't be getting any computer time because I have planned a weekend away with my husband! It is his birthday on Saturday and we are going to go camping... just the two of us! Camping has been such a negative thing for me lately because there is always so much to do to get ready and I work really hard getting everyone fed and cleaning up all the messes. Well, this weekend is going to be different. The cooking and cleaning will be much easier for just the two of us, and we are also bringing our kayaks so we can relax on the river. We will be hanging out near the Chassowitzka just north of us near Crystal River.

I plan on bringing some images to color while we are away because I know I am going to be going through withdrawals after not getting to make cards all weekend! Tom will want to nap and I plan on using that time to color! I will be back online as soon as I can with another card to share!

Have a great weekend and may your bucket overflow with the joy of spending time with loved ones!