Pumpkins!!

We went to the Dallas Arboretum, as we do every year, to see the pumpkins, the hay maze and the new play houses! The kids had fun, and Max managed to not fall into the fountain this year! Although I did take extra clothes with me just in case! We got some great pictures of the kids.

I Love Snowflakes!

I am making this card for the Austin Shoebox Swap! I absolutely love this pattern paper from Basic Grey. It is from last year or the year before and it was part of the Dasher line. It is hard to find anymore since it is "retired", so when I find it, I buy all that I can get! The rest of the paper is SU - Blue Bayou (also retired) and Kraft. The snowflake is from PTI - the Snowflake Serenity set. I embossed it using just VersaMark and white EP. The ribbon is also Blue Bayou from SU.

Where in the world are Max and Madison??

Max and Madison decided to put all of their stuffed animals into their bathtub and then hide! They had so much fun - I wish everything was so simple! In the bottom picture, they are actually hidden in the stuffed animals!

Peace Out

I made this card for a swap. We needed to use any of the fantastic stamps from The Greeting Farm. I picked this one because she is my newest one and I LOVE her!! Her name is Hippie Anya. She was a limited edition and has since sold out, but they will be releasing other limited edition stamps in the coming months! The sentiment is from Stamping Bella. The navy paper is Night of Navy from Stampin' Up, and the turquoisey blue is Bermuda Blue from Stampin' Up's new In Colors - I love the new In Colors, they are great! The pattern paper is the Summer Matstack from DCWV. The ribbon is SU white grosgrain and I colored her in with my Prisma Markers.

This is my latest Twilight Swap Card. This was the third round, so it was the Eclipse Swap. I decided to try something different this time and not use my Ian and Anya stamps for Edward and Bella. It is lots of layers and was fun to do. The pattern paper is fantastic, but I don't know where I got it! The heart is from the SU Sketch It set and I did it with Real Red ink and Iridescent Ice EP. All of the solid paper is from SU and the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

It has been too long!

I can't believe it has been over a month since I have posted anything. All I can say is that it has been a very busy month! Here is a card that I did for a beach themed swap. I love this set by Lizzie Anne Designs. It came out last year and I finally broke down and bought it! The paper was some fun paper that I saw at Hobby Lobby and the ribbon is SU 1/4 inch grosgrain. I colored her in with my Prisma Markers.

Skater Ian and Fairy Chloe

I made Skater Ian for LJ's Sport's Swap! I think he is great for all kinds of cards for little boys! Or, give him long hair and turn him into a Skater Girl! Chloe was made for Mel's Fairy Swap! There are three fairies in this line by TGF and they are all super cute! I actually ended up making Chloe in two different color schemes for the swap because I ran out of the flowers and had to use some different colors! The solid paper is all SU, the brads are Doodlebug and the flowers are Prismas. I of course used my Prisma markers for all of the coloring. There is also clear Spics glitter pen on her wings. The pattern paper on Ian is DCWV from the Rockstar Mat Stack.

POP Goes the Monkey

I made this card for a pocket card swap - the bubble gum is in the pocket. This Changito monkey is so dang cute - it is a clear stamp set from Stampendous that a friend of mine got for me. I used all SU paper, Prisma markers and a clear glaze pen on the heart, although it is hard to see in the pictures. I have to admit that I CASE'd this card, I thought it was so cute and would work really well with the bubble gum! The inside of the card reads, "I could pop!!".

I have been a very busy girl, trying to get a bunch of swaps done! So, I am going to do a few postings today! This first one I did for Tracey's monthly swap and this month the card needed to be a friendship card. So I used the flowers from the last card I posted and the Stamping Bella friend sentiment that I love - "if friends were flowers, I'd pick you!". I really love this color combination, it is one of my favorites. All of the paper and ribbon I used is from SU and the flower stamp is Elzybells, which I got from A Muse.

This card is for the Super Saturday Challenge - Joni is hosting it this week! Sketch challenges are always hard for me - I think that I have to stick EXACTLY to the sketch and I always feel like I don't get it quite right! This was a fun one me though since I got to use my punches - love those things. I used Basic Grey pattern paper, SU Barely Banana and W. White. The stamps are from Amuse and I used 3 different punches. The ribbon is also SU. Make sure to check out Mel and Gabby's blogs to see what they did for the challenge!!

I made this card for a monthly swap that I am in. The theme this month was Kid Birthday! I am always looking for little boy cards, so I went with that! I saw these brads in Target and knew they would be great with this stamp! I love how it turned out! The paper is all SU, the brads are from Target and the stamp is from Lizzie Anne Designs.

Ok- I promise this is the last Edward/Twilight card for awhile! Or until the next swap is due anyway! This is for Sarah's (WAStamper) New Moon Swap. This quote is actually from Eclipse, but it is one of my favorites. I used Ian and Anya from The Greeting Farm. I used my Prisma Markers to color them in, a black glossy pen on her headband and a Spica clear glitter pen on his face, hands and feet. I went very light on the embellishments, but then I think the Ian's and Anya's are embellishments on their own!

Spring Picture Time

We had some spring pictures taken of the kids this weekend and these are some shots that I took at home before we went!

Kiddos

I haven't posted any family pictures in awhile and got a couple of good ones this weekend. I LOVE this picture of me and Madison - I just wish she didn't have the gum in her mouth! The picture of Max is from the Eaglet Olympics this weekend. He takes gymnastics classes at the same gym that Madison competes for. They do this "mini-meet" every year for the kids that are not on team - it gives them a chance to show off all that they are learning! He is doing the "gymnast salute"!

Hottie ATC!

This is my other ATC for the Twilight ATC Swap that I am in. I love this picture of Rob Pattinson! I printed the picture on glossy paper, cut it and mounted it on SU B. Black and a white ATC card from Stampland Chicago. I downloaded the font so that it was Edward's "hand writing" and used SU Real Red around the edges. I love this quote from the book - he really had no idea that he "dazzles" people - at least according to Bella!

Ian as Edward!!

This is an ATC for a Twilight ATC Swap that I am in. I am so excited with how this turned out! I got my inspiration from this fantastic card by Gabby's daughter! I used my Prisma Markers to color him in. On his hair I used; Dark Umber, Sienna Brown and Goldenrod. On his clothes I used French Grey 70%, 50%, 20% and Crimson Red. I used my Copic Spica Clear Glitter pen on his face, hands and feet to make him "sparkle"!! If you are not a Twilight fan, Edward is the main vampire character! In case you haven't seen Ian before, he is made by The Greeting Farm and I used this set and this set!

Look What I Won!

I won this when Joni did the Super Saturday Challenge two weeks ago! She made this beautiful bag and card!! I love them and all of the goodies too! I got oodles of rub-ons, stamps, stickes and ribbon! Thank you so very much Joni!

Super Saturday Challenge

This is my entry for this week's Super Saturday Challenge. Gabby, Joni and Mel take turns hosting it and this week it is Gabby's turn. I haven't used my Bellas or my Prismacolor Pencils in far too long, so I pulled them out and got to work! I love the look that Gamsol gives the colored pencils - that is why I did the close up shot! Flowerbella is always a good one to use because she is so versatile! I paired her with the Stampingbella sentiment, "if friends were flowers...I'd pick you!". The pattern paper came from a 6X6 pack from SU. The flowers are Prismas, Doodlebug and Company K.

BLOG CANDY!! Woo Hoo!

Not mine, but on Chris' blog - check it out! She has amazing stuff on her blog!

Floral Fairies

I made this card for a swap that I am in. The swap is "I Love _____ Swap" - which means that I could use whatever stamp company that I love! So I used one of my new fairies from The Greeting Farm! I used Green Galore, Not Quite Navy and white cardstock. The other blue is a scrap that I had and isn't SU, so I am not sure what it is! The background stamp is from the SU set Polka Dot Punches and Fairy Tink is from TGF. The flowers are Flora Doodles by Petaloo - I got mine at Paper Source, but I have also seen them at Hobby Lobby. The ribbon is the double stitch ribbon that SU made in Blue Bayou - I still have a little left! I used my Prismacolor Markers to color her in.

A Muse Easter

I made this card for a monthly card swap that I am in. I really love all of the A Muse products and especially their notecards. They do the pattern on the front and back, so you can use it as a card, use it as pattern paper, or even flip them inside out and do a window that shows the pattern! My creativity has been lacking lately, so my Easter card is CASE'd off of this fantastic Christmas card that I made in one of Geeta Suggs' A Muse classes. If you are in TX and ever have a chance to take one of her classes, do it! She is in Austin, but teaches classes in San Antonio also. And we are going to get her up here in Dallas in May! See her blog for a class schedule and her amazing talent! For this card I used: A Muse notecards for the card and pattern papers - A Muse ribbon (this stuff is fabulous!) - Stampendous for the Calendar Chick stamp - Hero Arts sentiment - Marvi punches - Prisma Markers - Flower brads by Making Memories.

New Do!

Madison has wanted to get her hair cut short for awhile now. So, over Spring Break we did it! She loves it like this. We now have 5 months to grow it back out before the season starts for gymnastics and it has to be back up in a bun for competition!

Butterflies In Our House!

It is time for the annual project at our elementary school! For kindergarten, they needed to research an assigned spider or insect and create a 3-D version. Madison picked the Monarch Butterfly. At first I was stumped with what to do for a 3-D butterfly, but then another mom suggested doing the melted crayon between two sheets of wax paper deal - so that is what we did. I traced the wings and Madison cut them out - she helped with shaving all of the crayons and she did all of the writing on the research end of the project. In the photo album are some pictures of Monarch's that we took at the Dallas Arboretum a couple of years ago. Along with all of her research notes. She had to present her butterfly to the class and tell them three facts that she learned. Does anyone know that other animals do not eat the Monarch? When they are catepillars, they eat the milkweed plant, which is poisonous - and that makes them taste nasty as a butterfly! I sure didn't know that! I am very proud of the work that she did on this project! She is pretty proud of it too!

Emotional Baggage!

I did my first ever Challenge!! This was for Joni, Gabby and Melissa's "Emotional Baggage" Challenge. You need to make a card that looks like or is inspired by a purse/bag/piece of luggage that you love. This card was inspired by my Vera Bradley bag that I got last fall. I love the vibrant colors and the pattern on it - and it is huge, so I can fit all of my stuff in it! The stamps and pattern paper are from A Muse and the rest of the paper and ribbon is from SU.

You Rock!

I LOVE how this card turned out! This is for my friend Cheryl's (DJ) Musical Swap on Splitcoast! Our card had to have something to do with music. Since the Anya stamps are my new favorite thing, I of course had to use one of them - this is Rockstar Anya! I used my Prisma Markers to color her in, there is Silver Stickles on her headband and I used a Spica Clear Glitter Pen over the pink on the guitar. Both of the pattern papers are from the DCWV Rockstar Matstack. The color of the ribbon is a little off, but it works! I also used SU cardstock - Basic Black and Pink Passion. The silver paper behind the scull paper I got at JoAnn's, I am not sure who makes it! The sentiment is from Stamping Bella. I hope you like it!

This was a family picture taken last June. We went to the Botanical Gardens of Ft. Worth for these! This was the first time that we had done a family picture and I think we will do them each year now!

Here are some more family pictures! The one of Max was taken this week - he started a new school and he now has a "uniform" to wear! He loves wearing the "teacher shirts" as he calls them! The one of Madison and Kevin is from the Daddy Daughter Dance that was Feb. 7! This was her favorite picture of the night! She is growing up so fast, I can't believe it!

Here is the family!! This was taken on a trip to NY and NJ last summer. This picture was actually at the Jersey Shore! I will try and get some more recent pictures up here too!

My first Ian and Anya!

This is my first Ian! It is a simple recipe card that I did for a swap. These stamps from The Greeting Farm are so cute and so fun to color!

The Anya card was done for a Shoebox Swap that I went to in San Antonio. I am doing her as a redhead for another swap that I am in!

Ok, here we go - I have started a blog. Please be patient with me as I figure this out!