It's a Boy (Card)!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Monday!  I'd planned to be crafty just about all day today, but I ended up having to do some things around the house first.  As a result, I didn't get to my craft desk until almost two o'clock. :-p  The main thing I wanted to get done today was to make a card to go along with our neighbor's baby gift.  After doing some blog searching for a good sketch, I found this one at Cupcake Craft Challenges:

I decided it was PERFECT for what I had in my stash, so this is the card I came up with:

I also added a piece of patterned paper and another sentiment on the inside to give the card a more polished look.  The crawling baby is a Cricut I received from my friend Suzanne (Thanks, Suz!) in a Cricut cut swap in the Yahoo group Scrappin' 'n' Chattin', and I adhered it with pop dots to add a little dimension to the card.  The ribbon, buttons, sentiment sticker, and patterned paper are all from my stash.  I'm entering the card in these challenges:

Cupcake Craft Challenges--Faberoony Sketcharoony
KB Cute Monday--#25 Babies
Make It Monday--#50
Paper Playtime--#53 Anything Goes
Pile It On--#33 Blue, blue, blue
Sparkles Forum Challenges--#18 One For The Boys
Stamps & fun = Creativity--#60 Monochrome

I hope everyone has a great week!  (If you haven't been through the Lia Stampz Blog Hop yet, please visit Laura's blog to get started!  We've got giveaways and blog candy!!!)  Happy scrapping!

Lia Stampz Blog Hop!!!

Hi, eVeryone!  Welcome to the first official blog hop for Lia Stampz!  Woohoo!  If you just happened upon my blog and haVen't started the hop yet, please Visit Laura's blog to get started.  We're here to showcase Lia and her quirky and fun stampz!  We're also starting a new challenge blog today, which will run twice a month, so don't forget to head over to the Lia Stampz blog and check it out.  Our first theme was to create a card with a charm on it.  Here's the card I came up with:

I think I picked up the charm at Michael's, and the sentiment and image are both from Lia Stampz.  The card sketch is from the 365 Cards blog, where I'm also entering this card. 

Now, if you're hopping along, you might be searching for clues to win the big prize on the Lia Stampz blog.  I hope you're finding what you're looking for!   Don't forget that if you want three entries for the main drawing you need to do the following:

1) comment on all blogs and leaVe a comment on Lia's with the secret word

2)  post the blinkie on your sidebar (comment a second time on Lia's stating you'Ve done so )

3) follow Lia Stampz on Facebook and get a third entry (don't forget to comment a third time!)
If you're the first one to leave a comment on Lia's blog, you'll win a $10 gift certificate to Lia Stampz!

But wait, there's more! :D

Who wants to win THIS yummy free digi?  

All you haVe to do is leaVe me a comment telling me what your favorite coloring medium is.  I'll use random.org to choose a winner and will post the winner on Thursday.  Don't forget, if you win this digi, you have to respect the Lia Stampz Terms of Use.  View it here. 

BUT WAIT!  THERE'S STILL MORE!!!  I'm also offering blog candy!  All you haVe to do is become a follower of my blog and leaVe me a comment letting me know you're a new follower.  If you're ALREADY a follower, you can still win!  Just let me know you're a follower somewhere in your comment.  THAT'S IT!  I'll draw a separate winner using random.org and will post the winner on Thursday.  I apologize for not haVing a picture of my blog candy right now, but I'm headed out to one of my favorite LSSs tomorrow and plan to pick up a few things.  I'll post a picture then!

You're almost done with the hop!  Your next stop is Jennie.  Thanks for stopping by!  HaVe fun! 

1. Laura

2. Mo

3. Heather

4. Cely 

5. Tina

6. Georgia

7. Sally

8. Ashley -->You're here

9. Jennie -->Next stop

10. Lia 

Lasting Memories Challenge #51--Try Something New

Happy Sunday, everyone!  For this week's challenge at Lasting Memories, we're simply asking you to try something new.  It can be a new style, technique, or product, but it should be something you've never tried before.  UNFORTUNATELY, I don't have a layout to show you today. :-(   My husband is retiring from the Marine Corps in the spring, and we were in pre-retirement classes all week last week, so I didn't have time to get my layout done.  I'm planning to have a crafty day all day today, though, so HOPEFULLY I'll have something to show you before long!

Don't forget that we ALSO have our DT call going on at Lasting Memories right now!  It lasts through the end of August, and you have to participate in all the monthly challenges to be considered for the DT.  As a result, all LM challenges for August will remain open for the entire month.  Be sure to get your layout linked up to the Lasting Memories site by Saturday evening to be considered for next week's Top 3!

I'll be participating in a blog hop that starts tomorrow, so please remember to check back in tomorrow for that!  Good luck at Lasting Memories this week, and happy scrapping!

Lasting Memories Challenge #50--Sketch with a Twist and DT Call!

My apologies for this posting late, everyone!  It was scheduled to post yesterday but didn't, for whatever reason.  GRRR!!!!!  

 Happy Sunday, everyone!  It's time for the next Lasting Memories challenge!  For this week's challenge, we're asking you to follow this sketch:

The twist is that we're also asking you to use BUTTONS on your layout--as many as you want!  Unfortunately, I don't have a layout to show you just quite yet. :-(  I was in San Diego all week at a Jostens yearbook workshop and haven't had the chance to get it finished.  Please keep checking back, though, because my plan is to get it done later today!

It's also time for a Design Team call!  If you're interested in being on the new DT for Lasting Memories, you MUST follow all the challenges for the month of August.  Please be sure to put "DT" next to your name, so we know you're interested.  The new DT will be chosen in early September, and your term will run through December.  I'm sad to say that the month of August will be my last as a member of the Lasting Memories Design Team.  It's been a WONDERFUL team to be on, and I have really enjoyed working with everyone!  Thanks to Karen and all the other wonderful members of the design team for a great two terms!

Now it's YOUR turn!  We'd love to see what you've got for us this week!  Be sure to follow the sketch (it must be recognizable) and include buttons!  Get your layouts linked up by next Saturday, August 12, to the Lasting Memories blog.  Good luck, and happy scrapping!

Cakes and Cupcakes Birthday Cards @ Birthday Sundaes!

This week's challenge at Birthday Sundaes is to include cakes or cupcakes on your card.  I have a friend having a birthday VERY soon, so this is going out to her.  I hope she likes it!

I included views on two different backgrounds, because I couldn't decide which one looked better!  I used the cards and layers features on my Cricut Sweet Treats cartridge to cut the card and elements before adhering them together.  I added some ribbon I found in my stash to the "icing" between the layers, as well as some rhinestones from Queen & Co.  I ATTEMPTED to use some red embossing powder to put some swirls on the "cherry," but it didn't come out so well. :-(  The sentiment on the front is from a stamp set from The Rubber Cafe.

You should hop over to Birthday Sundaes and check them out, if you haven't already.  I'm going to be a guest designer over there in a few weeks!  WOOHOO!!!!  I'm REALLY excited about that!  I'll post more info on that later.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Be sure to check back here tomorrow for the new Lasting Memories challenge and information about the DT call!  Happy scrapping!

Sketchy Thursdays 7.28 Sketch Challenge

It's been quite a while since I played along at Sketchy Thursdays.  When I sat down at my crafting desk today, I had three layouts I wanted to complete.  Luckily, I got them all done, thanks to sketches!  One of the sketches I chose to use was the one from Sketchy Thursdays.  Here's the sketch they posted this week:

I decided to use some pictures from my first visit to Boston, Massachusetts, in February of 2010 for this layout, so here's my take:

The background paper is a piece in a Boston scrapbook kit I purchased while in Boston, as is the picture of Fanueil Hall (Did I spell that right?!?).  The other patterned paper and the embellishment on the top left came in an Americana kit I won on some blog candy a few weeks ago (Thanks, Kim!).  The journaling strips and blue border pieces were part of a border punch swap from the Yahoo group Scrappin' 'n' Chattin' a few months ago, and they just seemed to fit here.  The letters are chipboard from Heidi Swapp, and I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in barn door to color them.

I'm really happy with the way this layout turned out!  Once I sat down with everything, it all came together very quickly.  I'm going to have to enter the Sketchy Thursdays sketch challenges more often!  TFL, and happy scrapping!

Christmas in July!--Last card

I can't believe today was the last day of Scrappin' 'n' Chattin's Christmas in July card challenge!  It's been such fun, and I now have a stash of thirty-one beautiful handmade Christmas cards to send out this year!  I wanted to find a sketch to use with today's card, so I did a little blog hopping to see what I could find.  I came across this sketch at Card Patterns:

I had several elements I wanted to use on today's card, so I turned the sketch sideways and made my card large enough to fit in a business-size envelope.  Here's what I came up with:

The Santa is a Cricut cut I received in a Cricut cut swap I participated in earlier this year, and the lettering was a set of bling stickers I picked up at Michael's.

It was such fun participating in the Christmas in July challenge!  I don't think I have enough cards for EVERYONE on my list, but I'm off to a good start!  TFL, and happy scrapping!