Inky Button - Ink Along With Me

Happy Kitchen Sink Monday!

Good Morning Sistahs!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Or shall I say, Bloggerhood?!  I have had so much fun these past few days BLOPPING around visiting some of my favorite blogs.  I'm sure my sistah Nicole can relate to my joy because we both just finished a nice long semester and are very much enjoying our creative time.

While I was blopping, I came across Lauren Meader's post {here} with a fabulous gift created from one of her free templates {Recipe Wrap-up} found at Papertrey Ink. FREE?!?  Yes sistahs you heard me!!  FREE!!  So I did not pass go, did not collect $200, I went straight over there and downloaded the template.  Now, I am far too anal...OCD...particular for this to be a quick project.  In fact, it took me the better part of 2 days to finally finish it.  I plopped down in front of my TV and watched one of my all-time favorite girly movies {Return To Me} about 8 times.  After many hours of work, and finding tools I haven't used in FOREVER (*read here eyelets and the eyelet setter,) I finally finished my project for my sistah Phoebe.

She is the one who introduced me to the 29 Days of Giving, so I decided to make a reflection book for her to keep track of her gift giving and also to give her space to reflect on her feelings, reactions from the recipient, or anything else she may want to jot down.

This is what it looks like when the ribbons are untied and first opened.

I decided to write down some quotes on "Giving" for a little bit of inspiration whenever she opens it.

This is what it looks like when it is opened all the way.  (This is only half of it because I couldn't get a good photo of it with all 6 panels laid out.)

(Here's the other half.)

I stamped Very Vanilla cardstock with the long lines from the Playful Frames & Journaling set to create journaling space, then I used the Tab Punch from Stampin' Up! to create the tabs for the top of each card.  After I punched out the tabs, I stamped each one using Kitchen Sink's Mix it Up! Monogram and Alphabet set.  I also cut out 6 tags using the Nestabilities Label 1 set and stamped them with the Mix it Up! set too.  (The numbers were too big for me to stamp on the labels so I had to write them.)

Here's a close-up of the first 5 journaling cards:

I had so much fun playing with the Mix it Up! and Playful Frames & Journaling sets!  Were they not just perfect for this project?!?!  I mean seriously!

The papers were from Basic Grey Sultry line, Very Vanilla, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, and Pink Pirouette.

Whew! It's complete and ready to be given!  Now, blop on over and see what amazing creations the rest of the crew has created for your inspiration.

Maria Colosimo

Nicole Cooke

Tammy Hershberger

Dee Jackson

Julie Masse

Lynn McAuley

Lori Tecler

Happy Monday and Happy Stampin'

Birthday...check! Christmas...check!

Good Morning Sistahs!

Happy Day After Christmas!  Doesn't it feel good to have your soul nourished with friends and family?  (I for one LOVED my day!)  Did you get anything fabulous?! Aside from the gift of time, I received a very special gift from my hubby. 

 For every gift giving holiday my hubby asks the infamous, "What do you want for _____________?" *insert: your birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, etc.  To which I ALWAYS reply, "Jewelry" or "Diamonds." *giggle.  Both of us knowing full-well that what I really want are rubbah, paypah, and eenk.  I mean seriously, one measly diamond or 5 new sets of stamps, some Copics, embellishments, and a few new sets of Nesties.  See, more for your money. Well this year, my hubby actually did it!  He bought me jewelry!!  He purchased a most glorious pair of pearl earrings for me, and here's the kicker...without me even knowing!!  Yeah, I'm shocked!  But "...in a most delightful way." (Sorry had to throw the Mary Poppins reference in, and I'm not even sure why.)  

I immediately put the earrings on and felt so underdressed, (I was still in my PJs.)  So I put on my holiday clothes and proceeded to finish cleaning the kitchen; feeling like a Princess.  Such a beautiful day!

Okay, enough babble...on with the show!  I promised I'd show you a few extra photos of the holiday projects I made.  This project comes from one of my favoritist people...mrs. rachel!!  She helped me out so much with her Tea-riffic Tin from last month's Frenzy Projects.  Her inspiration came from Jennifer McGuire but the love and care and the tea recipe came from rachel.  I made these tins for the gals who joined me at my Birthday Crop a few weeks ago.

Aren't they adorable?  I loved the green paisley print for the trees, and the rest of the paper is from Stampin' Up!.  (Retired Soft Sky and this year's Chocolate Chip DP Package.)  And, I actually used buttons.  I NEVER use buttons, I LOVE buttons, but almost never use them.  I'm a button hoarder.  The tins were so super fast to make, which is a good thing because I had less than 24 hours to get them made and given.  I gave one to each of the gals who attended the crop, and each one was filled with yummy friendship tea.  (At least I think it's yummy!)

If you're feeling social, let me know which gift you received that was your favorite!

I'm off to create a few new projects, hope to be able to share later.

Happy Stampin'

Merry Christmas!

Good Morning Sistahs!

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  I'm looking forward to a beautiful day of sharing laughter, joy and love with my family.  I of course want to share those very things with you too, because I consider you all to be family too.  So please wrap your arms around yourself, and give yourself a great big INKY HUG from me! *giggle

Now, on with the show!  Many of you have asked how my Nugget Tin Extravaganza went.  I'm happy to say that all 50 tins were successfully loaded and have "left the building!" *wink  I also have to let you know that I did not do it alone.  I had an elf (read here Darsana) come over and help me wrap about 35 tins worth of nuggets.  Because I am anal-retentive, er... OCD...er...particular, I HAD to have 3 of each Nugget variety in each tin, since well, the nuggets come in 4 varieties.  Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate w/Almond, Milk Chocolate w/Almond and Milk Chocolate w/Toffee and Almond (My Fave!) So she helped me go through each bag of Nuggets and pull out enough for each tin to have the correct amount of each Nugget.  (Yes, I am truly loved.) *giggle  

I actually ended up with about 5 different designer papers because I knew I would just get too darn bored of looking at the same paper while wrapping 600 nuggets.  Yes, sistahs, 600 nuggets.  Well, clearly you can see my need for variety.  I only managed to capture 2 of the 5 styles on camera, the rest flew out the door before I could grab a photo. 

This particular paper was my favorite to work with.  I just love the swirl of candy canes and this one just brought me joy.  

I also loved the blues of this paper:

I punched out two different snowflakes, the smaller one being Martha Stewart, the larger one was Fiskars. The Martha Stewart one was covered with Glossy Accents then dipped in Martha's chunky clear glitter, then the larger ones were covered with Glossy Accents and dipped in Martha's Mica Snow.  I wanted two different textures.  I found my snowflake inspiration from Amy Rysavy, who found hers from Anna Wight.  Both of these ladies made GORGEOUS snowflakes, but since I had to make 50 of 'em I figured simple was best.

Okay, I've talked your ear off enough!  More of my Holiday Goodies to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy Stampin',

Penguins & Reindeer Anyone?

Good Morning Sistahs!

Ya know how ya just have a few cards left to make, and you have stamps that you purchased awhile ago that have yet to see some ink, so you might as well use those ones to make a few cards?  Or is it just me?  *wink  Well, I squeezed in some time to create a few cards with a couple of stamps that hadn't seen ink yet.

Here's my first one:

I just loved these penguins the first time I saw them!  I think I even got them with a coupon, which makes them especially cute!  You can't tell from the photo, but the paper is shimmery and was a great bargain too!  (Can ya tell I'm a girl who loves a bargain?)  So rather than color these adorable penguins, I decided to glittah them up.  (My second favorite form of bling.)

My next card uses a set I ordered almost as soon as it came out, and I'm sad to admit that I haven't inked it up until now.  I still have visions of greatness for the elves, but the reindeer are going to have to do with this one. *giggle

I got the sentiment from a commercial I saw on TV.  I immediately thought of this stamp when I heard it, so I decided to bring it to life before I forgot because I know I'll never remember it for next year. *giggle

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're having a safe and warm Holiday Season!

Happy Stampin' 

Happy Kitchen Sink Monday! Challenge #4

Good Morning Sistahs! 

Before I get started with my Monday Morning Celebration, I just need a few moments to thank everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday!  You are all so kind and wonderful, and of course I just love you all!  A very special thank you goes out to Karin, Cordie, Darsana, Rachel, Kelley, Ana, Mariah and China, they were my croppin' buddies and shared their precious time with me at my birthday crop.  I also need to announce that Darsana was the winner of the Birthday Giveaway.  She will be receiving the 3-Step Hey Chick set!  Yay Dars.

Okay, now on with the show!!  Dee gave us an awesome challenge for this week!  Her challenge is called: "Ring In the New Year!"  She gave us full creative freedom to come up with whatever we wanted so long as it fit this category.  Of course it took me many and many attempts before I came up with the project you see before you, but it wouldn't be an Inky Button card if it didn't right?  *wink

Here is my take on "Ring In the New Year":

I love the Chocolate Bell!! What better way to ring in the New Year than with a chocolate bell?  

I got the idea for this bell from none other than the fabulous Rachel!  She made a tin, (which I'll be sharing with you later this week,) and on the outside she made a tree that stood out just like my bell does.

Here's a close up of the bells:

I stamped each bell 6 times, scored them in half, glued them together one half at a time, then finally glued it down to my scalloped circle.  I thought about using fewer bells, but I liked the full look of this one.  

This card uses both 3-Step Bells and Never a Loss 4 Words.  Oh and I almost forgot, it also uses Taylor's Cupcake Challenge Sketch.  Wow, I like when I am able to join challenges.  

You know the drill, BLOP on over to see what the rest of the crew came up with for Dee's Challenge! I am positive you'll find some amazing projects for inspiration.  Once you've checked out all our creations, don't forget to take out your rubbah and play along with us!

Maria Colosimo

Nicole Cooke

Tammy Hershberger

Dee Jackson

Julie Masse

Lynn McAuley

Lori Tecler

I hope you all have fun creating a New Year card!  I know I sure did!

Have a Happy Kitchen Sink Monday!

Happy Stampin'

Happy Birthday To Me!

Good Morning Sistahs!

It's going to be a short but sweet post today.  As you may recall, today is my Birthday!  WOO HOO!  And because I love to share the love, today is your lucky day too.  (Even you lurkers out there!)  LOL

So as an honor to the stamping that I LOVE, I'm giving away one of my all-time favorite Kitchen Sink Stamp Sets: 3-Step Hey Chick!  (Seen in some of my favorite cards: Here, Here, Here and Here.)

How do you win?  Easy!  Just leave a comment here for me, link back to my blog, hop on one foot, skip across the room, jump up and down, and giggle with delight.  I'M KIDDING!!!  Just leave me a comment before Midnight Mountain Time tonight and you'll be entered.  If you're the winner I'll e-mail you requesting your snail mail address so your gift can be shipped out, directly from Kitchen Sink Stamps.  If you'd like, you can add your favorite birthday anecdote or type of cake. 

Happy Stampin'

Happy Kitchen Sink Monday!!

Good Morning Sistahs!

It's Monday!!  And you know what that means!  Yep!  Kitchen Sink Time!  I have been so busy with end of year gifts, Thank You cards, special orders, finals, and of course....BIRTHDAY celebrations that I forgot to take a picture of today's card before I gave them to my Mother-in-law. (Hellooo McFly!)  I think it's also fair to say that in my world, the holidays don't start until AFTER my birthday, which is tomorrow BTW, so I'm trying to save every bit of energy I have for these final days before winter break. I have 50 nugget tins to finish by Thursday, a children's math book project due on Thursday, 3 sets of cards for my Secret Santa by Thursday, and my Grammar final on Friday.  (I hope my professor isn't reading this, she would flip her lid. LOL)  Anyway, I know you didn't come by to read my babbling so let's get on with the good stuff.

My Oh-So-Fabulous Mother-In-Law recently had knee replacement surgery.  She had asked me to make some Thank You notes for the doctors, nurses and physical therapists who took wonderful care of her.  Well what feels like 3 gajillion years later, I finally made these simple cards for her to give.  

    

Whadda ya think?  My MIL is not one for frills and bling so I resisted the urge to add bling to the card, (I know..shocking isn't it?) and stuck with something simple.  I absolutely LOVE this image and I'm so glad I finally added it to my collection.

This card uses the 3-Step Get Well Teddy and the 3-Step School Days sets. 

For the bear I used:

Step 1: Creamy Caramel (stamped off once)

Step 2: Creamy Caramel

Step 3: Close to Cocoa

Step 4: Chocolate Chip

I abso-smurfly LOVE the font in the 3-Step School Days set.  It is so perfect with its flourishes and thick lines!  (Hey Maria, might we be able to get more sentiments using this font?)  Doesn't hurt to ask does it? *giggle

I also want to give a shout out to my Lurking Sistahs! (You know who you are!)  I know you're out there because every time I see you guys, you comment on something I've blogged about.  So here's to you Lurking Sistahs, have a super week, and leave a comment sometime.  *wink Ha Ha Ha

Now I'm done babbling, so you can BLOP on over to the rest of the Crew's sites to see what eye candy they've created for your inspiration.

Maria Colosimo

Nicole Cooke

Tammy Hershberger

Dee Jackson

Julie Masse

Lynn McAuley

Lori Tecler

Happy Monday and Happy Stampin'

Happy Kitchen Sink Monday! Challenge #3

Good Morning Sistahs!

First of all, let me apologize for the delay in posting.  I had to take my computer in to get fixed.  GRRRR.  It should be ready in two weeks.  (Here's hoping) So I am at the mercy of the computer gods right now.  Please bear with me.  Now...on with the show!

We received an awesome challenge from our First Ever Guest Hostess Emilia.  She challenged us to use our Kitchen Sink Stamps to create a gift!  NO designer paper! (Ack!) You MUST add ribbon. (Yay!) And you had to alter something.(I can do that!) I mean what better item to alter with some Kitchen Sink Stamps than a dish towel? 

This sistahs is what I came up with:

 

I know, is that totally cheating that I put the ribbon on the outside?! Fear not, I actually used ribbon as Holly Berries once you open the dish towel:

 

And here's a SUPER CLOSE-UP of the Ribbon!

 

What did I do you ask?  First I stamped the sentiment from the 3-Step Poinsettia set, and stitched over the ink.  Next, I stamped all three different layers of the holly  from the 3-Step Holly & Mistletoe onto the cross stitch canvas on the dish towel, then I chose 3 different shades of green and started stitching.  It's not an exact science, I just went with my instincts and figured I really couldn't screw it up. What do you think? You Likey?!?!  Did I do a good job with the challenge?

Now, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to the rest of the crew's blogs and check out their fancy schmancy challenge projects!!

Thanks Emilia for the super challenge!

Maria Colosimo

Nicole Cooke

Tammy Hershberger

Dee Jackson

Julie Masse

Lynn McAuley

Lori Tecler

 

Happy Stampin'

Happy Kitchen Sink Monday!

Good Morning Sistahs!

Today is Monday, and you know what that means!  It's Kitchen Sink Day!  Woo Hoo!  

I decided to keep it simple today and create something relatively easy to recreate.

Behold:

The hardest part about this card was punching out all those little branches.  The punch is from Martha Stewart, (not sure of the name, sorry.)  It wasn't one of the easiest punches to use, probably because of all the fine details, but once I got the system down, I managed through.  I actually created a wreath form using my Nesties, and then glued the branches down.  I added the ribbon from the 3-Step Holly & Mistletoe and the "Happy Holidays" from the 3-Step Poinsettia.  I had to add BLING (of course,) and then I popped the whole thing up on a few Pop Dots.  And there you have it, a super simple card with a big bang.

Now, BLOP on over and see what the rest of the Crew has created just for you!

Maria Colosimo

Nicole Cooke

Tammy Hershberger

Dee Jackson

Julie Masse

Lynn McAuley

Lori Tecler

Inks:

Ribbon

1) Rose Red

2) Cranberry Crisp

3) Red Riding Hood

Sentiment

Red Riding Hood

Happy Stampin'