Bugs and Critters!!! =D

Hello everyone!  Yes, that's right, I'm posting twice in two days!  Haha!  I'm so ready for the school year to be over so that I can post alllll the time again!  =D 

Ok I have two cards for you today!  One of them is a card with some little sea critters on it, and one of them is a buggy beauty!  Here's the first one:

Since I got Hats off to You, I've had dreams of putting this little graduation cap on the whale from Critters of the Sea and creating the illusion that it was being raised off with spouted water!!!  I just thought it would be so perfect for that sentiment, and as a graduation card!  Now with graduation season upon us, I knew I had to do it!  And what better time than for the current Lawnscapings challenge - Calling all Critters!!! 

I love that little sun too from Partly Cloudy.  Adding the stickles just made it shine perfectly to show a bright, sunny day on the sea!  =) 

Next, I just love PTI's Little Lady stamp set!  I haven't inked it up in awhile, so I thought today was the perfect day!  Here's the card I came up with:

Aren't these colors just a great combo? Also, I wanted the ladybug's wings to stand up and out, so I stamped an extra ladybug and cut out the wings so that I could fold them up to make them look like they were helping the little lady fly!  Here's a close up of the wings:

I was super inspired when I made this card, with inspirations from:
1. CR84FN25 - Aqua Blue and White
2. Make it Monday #12 - Line Frame 101
3. Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

    

It's finally starting to get warmer here!  I'm getting ready to think about planting our garden and herb garden!  For those of you that garden, what are your favorite things to plant?  Our new thing this year is going to be butternut squash and cucumbers!  =) 

Well as always, thanks for checking out my blog!  I can't believe that I'm up over 30 followers and have so many great people checking out my blog on a regular basis!  You guys all ROCK and I am so glad to have gotten to know so many wonderful people in this past 9 months!  =D 

Finally!!!

Hi blogland!  =)  I really wanted to post my cards last night, but the internet just wasn't cooperating with me!  I had lots of crafty time yesterday, which was really good since my stress level was literally THROUGH THE ROOF!  But I'm trying to stay positive and hope for everything to work out... =) 

I did get some good news yesterday, my Father-in-Law and his long time girlfriend (we've all called her "stepmom" for years) decided that they are getting MARRIED this spring!  The hubs and I are so excited!  We absolutely love them and wish them the best!  I made them this card to celebrate:

I really love how this card turned out!  =)  This was was SUPER inspired by a bunch of challenges:
1. Off the Wall Craftiness 39
2. Repeat Impressions What If? Wednesday Sketch #D2910
3. Simon Says Stamp - New Beginnings
4. Tuesday Throwdown 30 - Embossing Technique
5. City Crafter Challenge Blog 38 - Winter White

     

I also made a card that was EtsyInspired this week!  Their store inspiration for challenge 120 was Muffa, this great store with adorable little crocheted mini characters!  Here's my card and the inspiration that I chose:

I just can't get enough of that Stampendous Birthday Bee!  I also wanted to make it look like he was high in the sky, so I used some masking and distress ink to make the Happy Birthday sentiment look like it was inside of the sun!  =)  Can you tell I'm already getting tired of winter?  Haha.  Here's the inspiration photo, I just loved the colors and the little whimsical gnomes:

Well, thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you have a crafty weekend everyone!  I'll be celebrating Orthodox Christmas with family and friends, so I'll be back Sunday for the DeNami Design January Blog Hop! =) 



Congratulations Card:
Paper:
* Neenah and Bazzil Cardstock
Stamps and Ink:
* Wedding Stamp Set -
* Memento Tuxedo Black
* Versamark Ink
* Whispers Silver Embossing Powder
Embellishments:
* Silver Satin Ribbon
* Recollections Sticker Letters and Symbols
* Rhinestones

Happy Birthday Card:
Paper:
* Neenah Cardstock
Stamps and Ink:
* Stampendous - Happy Bee Day to You Set 
* Paper Source - Sentiment Stamp
* Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
* Color Box Green Pigment Ink
* Ranger Distress Ink - Barn Door
* Ranger Distress Ink - Mustard Seed
Embellishments:
* Blue Rick Rack Ribbon
* Scalloped Circles
* Copic Markers
* Ranger Stickles - Crystal
* Chipboard Letter and Number

School Days and Updates! =)

Hello blogging world!  So lots has been going on lately, and so I thought I'd take a few seconds to share!

First of all, I was lucky enough to win my first ever challenge the other day!  A big thanks goes out to Wendy and the whole Repeat Impressions team for sending me an awesome sheet of unmounted penguin stamps!  I am so pumped to start using them asap!  I'm especially thinking about using them for my next round of challenges!

I do have a card to share with you today as well!  School has started again, and things are changing in my building!  One of my absolute best friends actually got a new job this year at another district and so today we had a small "going away" get together for him.  We are both Penn State graduates, and so I made him this super cute PSU themed card:


I especially liked the chance to create a pattern with one stamp again!  I've been trying this more and more and hopefully I'll improve each time!

Well readers, until next time!  Happy crafting!


Paper:
* Bazzil Cardstock - White
* Paper Source - Lake
Stamps: 
* Inkadinkado Stamp Set - Wag My Tail
*  Dovecraft Studio G Rubber Stamp - Good Luck
* Ink Box - Deep Blue and Silver
* A la Mode - Black Pigment Ink
Embellishments: 
* Satin Blue Craft Ribbon
* Blue Rhinestones
Adhesives:
* Scotch Permanent Double-Sided Tape Roller
*Aleene's Tacky Glue
* Z - Dots 3-D Large Size