Festive Friday - Merry & Bright...

Happy Friday my friends! This week has flown by, as we're getting right in to the details of moving. I've started the very beginning stages of packing up - the pictures are off of most of the walls, cupboards are starting to be emptied... I won't lie, I am not looking forward to this process, even a little bit. But, it has to be done in order to move onto the next stage, right?

Well, we're halfway through our current challenge over on the Festive Friday blog, so I am here today to share another card with you, based on this week's graphic:

Right away, I wanted to use the peppermint candy image or the candy canes that are included in this stamp set, but I quickly changed my mind. And I am so glad I did, because how fun are these cookies?

Alright, so I have to tell you... I sat down to make this card, and in the back of my head, kept thinking of the little details that my friend Melissa would add, simply because I love her style so much. Well, you really need to go to the blog and see Melissa's card for this week! *wink*

Alright, that's all from me today, but make sure you head over to the challenge blog and see what the other ladies have created for this week - you won't be disappointed!

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10 Minute Craft Dash - Warm Wishes...

Hey there friends! Things relating to our move are getting busier and busier as the days pass, so while I will always keep up with my design team assignments, it might slow down a little bit here for awhile! It's all temporary of course.

With that said, it's time for a new 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge! I wanted to really push myself this week, and see just how much I could get done in 10 minutes.

This week, we're working with some really beautiful, soft colours. Take a look:

I saw these as a moss green, buttery yellow, and lilac - though the purple I chose is a bit more blue, as it's what I had in my stash.

I've said it before, and I'll preach it again... the key to getting lots done in 10 minutes is preparation! I am trying my hardest to get a video together to show you my process when I create for this challenge - my camera has other ideas. But if I can do it, you'll see how I take only a couple of minutes to plan out my 10 minutes before I get started, and it pays off in spades!

This one took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds. I chose a detailed stamp and patterned papers to do most of the work for me, and a simple layout that went together quickly. And because my clock was on my side, I even 'extra' embellished my bow!

Hey, did you hear? Paulina will be holding a Design Team call soon, so make sure you keep an eye out for that... this is *such* a great team to be on - so why not try out?

Head on over to Pretty Pink Posh for more details on the current challenge, and to see what the rest of the team has come up with for you!

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Scrapbook Sunday ~Featuring Evan Wilson Photography~ - LOVE...

Happy Mother's Day to you all! I am scheduling this post, so at the moment, I am not entirely sure what I am in for... Emma is old enough to 'plan' things herself now, and her dad really likes to let her take the reigns, so we'll see. I am going to guess there are pancakes at the Golden Arches on the agenda, though... *wink*

Because it's Mother's Day, I am sharing a layout of both of my beautiful girls, celebrating the best job I've ever had.

If you've caught these posts the last couple of weeks, you'll remember that I've been sharing layouts I created using photographs taken by my super talented brother. You can check out more of his incredible work on his website, Evan Wilson Photography.

For this layout, I basically CASED a layout by Maggie Holmes, adding a few of my own twists here and there. You can find her layout in this post on the Crate Paper blog - just scroll down towards the bottom.

I loved that her layout really allowed for a lot of different patterns and elements to work together, so that's why I decided to stick to it so closely... what I've started doing is turning the pages I've pinnned into sketches for myself, so that I can refer to those instead of the original project while working. This way I don't outright copy anything!

I did really like Maggie's journalling, so I used the very same idea for my own:

And here are some of the photos from this particular shoot, taken by Evan:

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Copyright Evan Wilson Photography

Every time I write one of these posts, I am blown away by the difference a year makes. *Why* must they grow so fast?

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, friends!

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Something Fun for Saturday...

Today I have a crafty post (because that's what I do here), but this one comes with a story. Because I am married to a cornball who thinks he is funny, and he thought he'd try to 'help' me with this one.

So, the story. Now, if you've followed my blog for awhile, you've probably heard some of my hubby's antics. He is cheesy, he is a joker, and above all, he's *cheeky*. (And his youngest daughter is his clone. Lucky me.)

We got the assignment for this card, and I was stumped. They were colours that were way out of my comfort zone, and ones I didn't even really have supplies for on hand. So one Saturday afternoon, we dropped the kids off with Grandma, and hubs came with me to the scrapbook store.

Rewind: remember how I've mentioned that my hubby pointed out that my cards tend to follow a bit of a formula?

We got to the store, and as I wandered a bit aimlessly, he was nearby, kind of browsing in the way only boys can; picking this and that up, turning it over, raising an eyebrow in confusion and putting it down again. Pointing out only the most tacky of items, of course.

So I kept saying that this one was really eluding me, and I didn't know what I wanted to do. Cue helpful hubby:

"Well, what if you got like, some purple patterned paper and put that on it. Then you could get some lace or something and then you could put a bow with some like... buttons or something. Then you could put a panel on the front there, and stamp that..."

He gets this twinkle in his eye when he's being an... well.. this is where you should know I say bad words.

And I definitely said a few bad words to him when he was making fun of the fact that he thinks all my cards look the same.

So you know I couldn't make this one look the same.

Take *that* cheeky husband.

You should probably know that I tend to say bad words pretty frequently. I mean, if we're going to be friends and all, it's only fair that you know that.

Oh, and also, I am terrified of frogs. Terrified.

Just thought you should know.

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Festive Friday - Christmas Wishes...

Another week has gone by in the blink of an eye... does this happen to you? I feel like I was just sharing a card for Festive Friday, but here I am again!

And just so you know - I was creating today's card while the sun shone outside, the mercury is setting records for this time of year. No, I don't have an issue with the summer weather and winter stamps (I love Christmas way too much), but I am a sun-lover, so I totally sacrificed for my beloved readers!

Or not. I love inky sessions, no matter what.

This week, we've issued a trigger challenge. The idea being that we've provided a trigger word, and we want to see what it inspires you to create. No need to use the word itself, just create what the word means to you.

Here is our graphic for this week:

Sweet can mean many things relating to Christmas, but this week, all of our projects focused on food! *wink*

I actually had a lot of ideas for this one... it was just a matter of which one to use! Here's what I decided on...

I don't even like gingerbread, but it is pretty cute for the holidays... my oldest *loves* gingerbread men (although I don't think she cared for the cookie itself, either), so I know she'll love this card. I also went with bright, candy colours, and the fun font from this stamp set worked perfectly too.

Thanks for popping in... remember you have almost 2 weeks to play, and we love seeing your creations, so make sure you check the challenge blog for all the details!

I am working on kind of a fun post for tomorrow, including a project for a recent Colour Combos Galore challenge that I didn't get a chance to post yet... make sure you check it out!

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Happy Birthday...

Hey guys! There's a new challenge over on Color Combos Galore, so I am here to share my project for this week.

The current challenge was really fun for me to try, because the colours are a combination I've wanted to try for awhile - so it was the nudge I needed!

I went a bit of a different direction with this one, inspired by my friend Cherry. I saw a very similar project from her ages ago, and finally decided to give it a try myself.

Here is our beautiful board for this week:

I chose to focus on the shabby chic theme, and this is what I  came up with:

I thought these would be fun little gifts to give someone on their birthday when a gift isn't necessarily in order, but a card isn't enough - do you ever need those?

Because I went with the shabby theme, I just kept piling on the embellishments - my favourite thing to do!

You can see my little strip of gold glitter there - I am in love with it against the pink!

I have another project that I missed posting while I was on holiday for a recent CCG challenge, and a little story for you! Something that makes me chuckle and also kind of roll my eyes... you'll see! I'll post that over the weekend, after the new Festive Friday challenge!

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Flourishes Beautiful World Tour...

ETA: Hey guys! SO sorry for being late in posting this - I flubbed with my scheduling! I apologize for any inconvenience!

ETA #2: Joyce so kindly pointed out that this qualifies for the Watercolour Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World... so I am linking up there!

Hello Flourishes fans! Already, it's the first of the month, which means it's time for another tour around the world! If you've stumbled here by mistake, you can go back to the Flourishes blog to find out all the details!

You should have arrived here from the lovely Dina's blog, in which case, you're right on track!

Don't forget that your travels could win you free stamps... all you have to do is leave a comment on each designer's blog to be entered into a random draw for a free set from Flourishes!

This month, our hostess, Kathy, has given us the challenge: "A picture is worth a thousand words"... this one was a toughie for me, as it as all about focusing on images and leaving out the sentiments. I don't know what the hurdle was, but it took awhile for me to decide what to do. But, once I decided on a theme, it just took off and practically went together by itself.

If you spend any time around here at all, you know my love for cherries. When my oldest daughter was born, she wore a cherry themed onesie home from the hospital - and ever since then, I've been obsessed with all things cherry for Emma - including a tattoo on my foot! - so when I stamp them, it's always with her in the back of my mind.

For this card, I stamped my cherries in a random pattern on my panel, and then got out my watercolours. I am a terrible watercolourist, but want so badly to create beautiful paintings with this medium (I am constantly inspired by my friend, Angela, who does the most amazing watercolour paintings). I am finding that as I use these paints with my stamps, I am starting to feel satisfied with the results - I am really pleased with this card! After I was finished painting, I did splatter some creamy gold mist over everything, which just finished it off for me.

It felt strange not piling on the layers and adding lots of 'stuff', but at the end of it, I just wanted to let it shine on it's own.

That's what I have for you today, so now it's time for you to take off to your next destination, the talented:

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