CAS Colours and Sketches: Peace on Earth

The current sketch at CAS - Colours and Sketches has a nice angled section that I thought would be fun with a Christmas tree!!

The embossed background is from Cuttlebug and every time that I use it I get tons of questions about it. Sadly, I don't think it's out there any more.  I think it was called Rain/Snow and I think it was a European exclusive.  A year or so ago, when people asked about it, I could google it and find it - but I'm not finding it anywhere now.  I feel a little bad using it because someone might want it - but not quite bad enough to stop using it!!

• Stamps: Paper Smooches Christmas Sampler
• Paper: Simple Stories December Documented, Stampin' Up Garden Green, gold glimmer
• Ink: Versamark
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Merry and Bright die, Cuttlebug embossing folder, misc gingham, May Arts twine, Ranger Gold Tinsel embossing powder, Avery Elle and Neat & Tangled sequins

What Fall Means to Me!!

I realized this year that, even though I have about a thousand leaf stamps, I didn't have one that stamped leaves and then the veins.  So I went hunting for the perfect set (and it also had to have dies).  There are a number out there - but I went with My Favorite Thing's Thankful Leaves (I am so very thankful for fall.) There are three leaf shapes in the set - each is a perfect size as they can be tucked in behind as an accent or they can take center stage.

I did two very different looking cards with the set.  The first card uses the solid stamp image along with the veins and the die.  (I love the rich colors of fall.)



This card uses the sketch from Seize the Sketch.

The other reason that I wanted a set that had dies is to be able to cut leaves from patterned paper and then add the veins.  This is the same set as above. (The sentiment is not part of the set.)

This one is for CASology's Autumn challenge.

Did you notice the sequins on both cards?  They are a great mixed set from Neat & Tangled called Festive Fall.  If you like fall colors, this is a must-have!!  Something that I particularly like is the addition of a few clear and a few silver because it reminds me of the cool fall weather. (I love frosty fall mornings!!)
Fall has another meaning for me - one that sort of takes over our lives!!  It's marching band season!!  (I love marching band!)

Both of my sons are marching this year!  Do you see the two marchers in the back - a baritone and a trumpet (the tall guy and short guy side by side) - they are mine!!  (I love my boys - most of the time!)

I'm an old-time marching band geek.  And I have to admit that I don't always totally understand the new style!?  This is actually planned - hiding behind barrels, on the ground, it's fairly strange!!

But they always come back to the classic, solid-sound, lined up marching band that I love!

AND...they placed fourth in their class!!!  Last year, they didn't even make finals.  In fairness, there are smaller schools in a different class that actually got more points than they did so probably more like an 8th place finish.   But they were the most proud of the fact that of every school there, their music score was 3rd!!  They are feeling like they have a solid start on the marching season!
I love fall!!

Merry Monday: Be Very Merry

This week's challenge at Merry Monday is to use snowmen.  I had just gotten a Memory Box die of teeny tiny snowmen so thought I'd create a miniature scene.

A word of advice - do not get this little die - unless you happen to have micro-tweezers and the tiniest glue dot/bottle etc.  These snowmen and their itty bitty hats are incredibly difficult to work with!  I'm actually not sure I'll even use this card because I'm not convinced those little guys will stay together in the mail!  (But I had to use them at least once because they were the reason I got that sentiment.  It's a Stampin' Up individual and it was hiding in a corner of the holiday catalog. Once I noticed it, I think it was my favorite thing in the catalog!)

(Also submitting to Simon Says Stamps Anything Goes challenge.)

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Be Very Merry
• Paper: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder
• Ink: Stampin' Up Coast Cabana
• Accessories: Memory Box Mini Snowmen, Stampin' Up Aqua Mist twine, Spellbinders square die, Cuttlebug Embossing, Martha Stewart Fine Crystal Glitter

CAS on Sunday: Oh Happy Day

I got word last night that a lady that I work with through church is pregnant!  And I'm meeting with her this morning so guess what I had to do first thing? This is a no-frills kind of family so CAS was definitely the right way to go.  Plus, I didn't want lace or ruffles or cutesy.  So I went with neutrals and a few baby-ish enamel dots.


I asked earlier in the week if anybody knew a source of stone gray type background papers.  I was wandering through Hobby Lobby yesterday (paper on sale) and found a pad by Becky Higgins Project Life, the Midnight Edition.  It's full of simple stone gray and black/white patterns (plus a few golden yellow).  I used two of the patterns in this card. I am playing along with the current CAS on Sunday challenge: Oh Baby!
I'm also submitting this to Simon Says Anything Goes.

• Stamps: Muse (dress), Impress (sentiment) - both are from a decade or so ago!
• Paper: Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight Edition
• Ink: Memento Black
• Accessories: Lil' Inkers Stitched Squares, crochet thread, misc enamel dots

CAS(E) this Sketch! Happy Birthday Chevrons

This is my second post today.

It's just a short scroll down for the Avery Elle blog hop!!

There's a great sketch today at CAS(E) this Sketch that will allow you to bring out your favorite border stamps or dies.

I settled on my new Peek-a-Boo Chevrons from My Favorite Things.

I was recently commenting on another blog about the difficulty of graphic cards.  My comment was about the need to be perfect on a graphic card - everything has to be lined up or it's noticeable.  Sure enough - there's something not perfectly straight on this and it bugs me (not quite enough to go to the work of cutting all of these again - although I do have the new magnetic Sizzix platform and it's awesome!!)  The yellow strip is leaning ever so slightly to the right.  I think if I took a ruler, I wouldn't have increments small enough to measure it - but my eye sees it! I sure hope you have fun with this one!!  I look forward to seeing what you create!
I'm also submitting this to Simon Says Anything Goes.

• Stamps: My Favorite Things Birthday Greetings
• Paper: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Summer Sun, Coastal Cabana
• Ink: Memento black
• Accessories: My Favorite Things Peek-a-Boo Chevrons, misc MME enamel dots

Avery Elle Blog Hop: Let it Snow, All is Calm

I was beyond thrilled to win the monthly Avery Elle challenge with this card using my new favorite sentiment set!  The great part of winning a challenge is that you get to be the guest designer for the next month.  Today, I am part of the new release blog hop and I have a gorgeous winter set to show you!

Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post because there is a giveaway from this blog hop!  (If you didn't come from Chunyuan Wu's blog - you should definitely start from the beginning at Avery Elle!)


The set that I get to show you today is called Let It Snow.


The set has the sweetest little sprinkle of snowflakes.  Here's a close-up so you can see the dainty detail.  (The bird is pretty darn cute too - and he even comes with a teeny version so you could line up a whole family of birds!)


Next on the hop is  Nina Yang.
And here's the official words that tell you how you can win!

To celebrate our October/November Release Blog Hop, Avery Elle is giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to one random winner.  To enter to win just comment on this post.  There is no purchase necessary and you must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  This giveaway is void where prohibited.  You can also do options 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 of the following to increase your chances of winning. You have until midnight Sunday, September 29th to enter.  The winner will be announced on the Avery Elle Blog on Monday, September 30th .  All products are available for purchase in the Avery Elle store right now.

To enter to win you can do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 of the following to increase your chances:

1. Comment on any of the design team's posts and/or on the Avery Elle Blog
2. Follow us on Twitter and tweet the contest (we are @averyellestamps )
3. Follow us on Facebook (we are www.facebook.com/AveryElle ) and share us with your friends - make sure they tell us you sent them.
4. Follow us on Pinterest
5. Become a blog follower through Feedly or Blog Lovin' (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already follow us)
6. Join our Flickr group (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already belong)

Here's everybody on the hop.  Have fun!!

Avery Elle / Jamie

Chunyuan Wu

Kim Singdahlsen

 Nina Yang

Heather Campbell

JJ Bolton

Donna Mikasa

Kasia Curry

Maska Vanacker

I'll be back on Wednesdays throughout October showing you more from this set and also another exciting set called Winter Wreath.

Paper Smooches: I'm So Sorry

I was having the most fun playing with the set from Paper Smooches called Free Spirits (which, by the way, is a freebie with $60 purchase through September!)  It is full of fun glasses for wine and margaritas and other exotic drinks, along with cherries and ice cubes and umbrellas.  I had out neon inks and I was going for the margarita but nothing was quite working.  Then I saw two glasses stamped on my scratch sheet - one upright and one sideways - and the light bulb came on!


You'll see right away that I got away from the neon margaritas.  I'm still going to play with that idea - but I was slightly handicapped in this card in that the only empty glass that I could spill was the wine glass so this card went a whole different color direction.
I'm submitting this to Simon Says Anything Goes.

• Stamps: Paper Smooches Free Spirits, Word Up, Borderlicious
• Paper: scraps
• Ink: Memento Black, Delicata Gold
• Accessories: Avery Elle sequins Lemonade and Kraft

Newton's Nook Designs: Happy Harvest

Last week, I used Newton's Nook cute little wagon set with the pumpkin and a kitty cat topper.  This week I wanted to try the pots of flowers with some rich fall colors.

I love fall colors!  And I love the trend from some of my favorite designers to back them with gray.  It just seems to make them glow!   This is my last official post for my month of guest designing with Newton's Nook.  I hope you have enjoyed what you have seen.  The stamps have been fun to work with - today's stamp is pretty and I was especially charmed by the Mummy Bear from earlier in the month!  I know that I definitely look forward to their future releases!

• Stamps: Newton's Nook Wagon of Wishes
• Paper: Stampin' Up Summer Sun and Lucky Limeade, Crate Paper Storyteller dsp
• Ink: Memento Black and Copics
• Accessories: Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles, MFT Leaf Flourish and Sunflower dies

Freshly Made with Simon Says: Warm Thoughts

So many of my blog heroes have been using light stone-gray patterns for their backgrounds instead of plain white and I love the look.  It seems to make the other colors so much richer!  I thought I would give it a try, but my first challenge was finding a soft gray tone paper.  The problem is that most of them are the backside of busier sheets of dsp so it takes a bit of looking.  Does anybody know if there's one big pack of light stone-gray papers??

I also wanted to play along with this week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp is to use a product from their store.  Not a big problem for me!!  I decided to use one of the feather dies that I just got and a new stamp set (list below).  I was browsing challenges and realized that the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches would be a perfect fit for the feather!

Here's my Simon Says Stamp list:

• SSS Pointed Feathers dies
• SSS Handwritten Greetings
• Clearly Beloved Sequins
• Hero Arts Raspberry Jam Shadow Ink
• Basic Grey Carte Postale
• the gray paper and twine are scraps

Catered Crop: Pack it Up

This week's challenge from Catered Crop is to "Pack It Up" - focus on the packages; the tags, the bows, the treat boxes - any fun thing to give a little treat to someone.

I have a fun new toy that works perfectly for this challenge.  It is a Card Hanger Die from Laurie Willison over at Soapbox Creations.


Can you tell what this die does? It's a fantastic little creation that allows you to decorate a gift bag with a card!!

Because this card hangs on the gift bag - it can be more dimensional than usual so I finally got to use a bow die!  Think of all the fun things you could put on a card if it were actually the bag decoration! Here's the card by itself (it really is a card!)

Laurie has three designs of these bag hangers and a great video to give you two ways to use it.  
(I think I'm going to invest in a large supply of brown paper gift bags!!)
I hope you all decide to play along.  I don't do much packaging - I have a number of dies for treat boxes and tags but they just don't come out often.  I would love to be inspired by what you create!!

• Stamps: Technique Tuesday Jingle All the Way
• Paper: Basic Gray 25th & Pine 6x6 pad, Stampin' Up Cameo Coral
• Ink: Stampin' Up Night of Navy
• Accessories: Card Hanger die from Soapbox Creations, Neat & Tangled sequins, May Arts twine, Simon Says Stamp Perfect Bow die, Doodlebug Designs Sprinkles Ladybug Assortment, Papertrey Ink Holly Jolly die (mistletoe0

Newton's Nook Inky Paws: A Stylin' Halloween Kitten

This is the sad story of a kitten whose mom did not have plain white sheets...


But isn't he just stylin' in his plaid sheet?!
I've been challenging myself to use new stamps before they are put away.  But in the last few weeks I have extended my personal challenge to use multiple stamps in a set.  Using one stamp from a set is a big step for me - but when you let yourself think about it - that's a very expensive card!  This was a set that worked perfectly for my personal challenge.  I had used the forest animals in the set on these cards so wanted to use the more domestic critters!  Here's the cat; there's still a dog in a tutu that's charming but I haven't quite figured him out yet!!
Beside the personal challenge, I'm also playing along with the Inky Paws challenge at Newton's Nook.

• Stamps: Newton's Nook Designs Boo Crew
• Paper: Doodlebug Haunted Manor 6x6
• Ink: Memento black and Copics
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Winter Wisteria button, Divine Twine Black Licorice Twine, Mark Richards Crystal Stickers Orange

CAS(E) this Sketch! {Grateful}

I am totally and completely an autumn person.  I love the cooler temperatures and the crisp air, I love the colors, I love the clothing, I love the high school marching band and the Denver Broncos.  I am {grateful} for everything about fall.

I used this week's sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch! and a big fall leaf to show my gratitude!

Funny story - not that any of you need any reason to doubt my complete obsessive side.  The leaf is stamped in Dusty Durango.  A month or so ago, I wrote a post about taking the time to stamp every stamp pad that I owned into an index so I could always choose the best ink color.  I was horrified to realize that I had every Stampin' Up stamp pad back to Mauve Mist and Mint Melody - 113 of them - but was missing one color, a retired color named Dusty Durango.  I'd never missed it - but I was immediately on EBay finding a Dusty Durango pad.  I just couldn't deal with having an incomplete collection! Here it is...I've used it...and it's perfect for my autumn-lovin' self!

This is a great sketch with so many possibilities.  I look forward to seeing you all play along.

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Wonderfall (leaf), Falling Leaves (sentiment)
• Paper: Stampin' Up Sweater Weather dsp
• Ink: Stampin' Up Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Naturals Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

Paper Smooches: Royal Cuteness

I've said a number of times that I am surrounded by boys and men and I work with numbers - so there isn't a lot of "cuteness" in my life.  But sometimes I just have to be girly.  Although personally I had no good reason to own this new set from Paper Smooches, I had to play with it.

(Actually I can justify just about any card since I am collecting a boxful for Operation Write Home There just has to be a big, tough soldier out there who wants to send this to a girl back home, doesn't there??)


This was so fun to play with - it was like dressing a paper doll.  I tried a number of dresses on her, but decided I liked the bold, summery look.  (Even when I'm trying to be girly, I still don't pull out pink!)

• Stamps: Paper Smooches Royal Cuteness, Streamers (the banner), Chit Chat (the sentiment), We Connect (the ampersand)
• Paper: Pebbles Seen and Noted (their clothes), Stampin' Up Island Indigo dsp
• Ink: Memento black and Copics
• Accessories: Royal Icons dies, Ampersands dies, Streamers dies

Newton's Nook: Wagon of Wishes

Last week, I had the privilege of showing off some new Halloween stamps at Newton's Nook Designs - check them out here.  Today I want to show you an earlier set that is just perfect for autumn!  It's called Wagon of Wishes and includes a wagon plus a number of "toppers" that you can use to fill the wagon.


I had to use the kitty on the pumpkins.  Newton, from Newton's Nook, is actually a cat!  So they have some charming kitty stamps in their collection.  Personally, I am co-owned by two cats - and the sprawled out look of the cat on the pumpkins is very familiar!  

The sweatshirt in the background is me at my craft table.  My cat is helping by keeping my lap warm and every once in awhile waking up enough to swat a few sequins off the table!

The other thing on my Newton's Nook wagon card is the leaves.  They are actually part of another stamp for the top of the wagon but I stamped it multiple times to create a colorful fall border.

I am definitely wishing each of you "loads of happiness" in your day!!

• Stamps: Newton's Nook Wagon of Wishes
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crushed Curry and Chocolate Chip
• Ink: Memento Black and Copics
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Dots, MME twine, Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles

A Huge Surprise!!!

I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post about my day today.  It's just been too exciting!


First, it wasn't raining!  So I went on a long bike ride.

I came home and was finishing up a blog post.


Then I noticed that I had a phone message.

A very exciting and unexpected phone message.

It involved meeting someone for lunch.


I jumped into the shower (although I thought seriously about skipping the shower, but I had gone bike riding and even my husband wrinkled his nose at that idea.)

I drove to the designated lunch place with my car windows open to dry my hair.

I had to hurry because she was waiting for me at a bar and I didn't know what to expect!  (Just kidding my friend!)


And then I met one of my heroes!

I had lunch with a truly wonderful person - and I think you all know her - I met Darnell!!!

She's as sweet in real life as I would have guessed from her blog and from commenting back and forth!

If you are one of the few who haven't discovered her blog - you need to head over.  She has a way with words that will make you chuckle through every post.  She has an outlook on life that is truly charming and an attitude to which I aspire.  She wrote recently about some truly terrible back problems that she was dealing with but she had me laughing all the way through the post - her view on life is remarkable!! You also quickly get to know about Mister and the twinks, the playhouse, Hitler the hummingbird and damselflies!  Every trip to her blog is an adventure.  She told me today that she had always wanted Erma Bombeck's job and I think she measures up quite well.  

(And she's a pretty darn good cardmaker too!!)

Funny thing - neither of us remembers why we started blogging, but neither of us would ever quit because we so love this caring and supportive community.

I'm not sure she will ever visit me again because I am on week 2 of a nasty cold (not contagious??) and I talked and laughed so much, I coughed almost constantly.  I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant lunch for her!  (I'm so sorry, Darnell, please forgive me - but I really couldn't say no to lunch!)

She was visiting her friend, Cheryl, who is not a cardmaker but was gracious enough to listen to our chatter!  Thank you, Cheryl, for sharing some time with Darnell!

Clearly Besotted Background: You Tickle My Fancy

Clearly Besotted Stamps has a challenge to create your own background on a card.  The first set that I had from Clearly Besotted is Fancy Feathers and I've only used it once so it had to make a reappearance!


I'm not particularly good at using Distress Inks to do a wash of color.  Every so often I like to try and given there is a Distress Ink color called Peacock Feathers, this seemed like as good a day as any.  Don't get me wrong - Distress Inks are very easy to work with.  I've watched the videos, I have the foam pads and the craft mat.  The color goes on easily.  But I guess I know that I am a control freak - because it seems a little too random for me!
So many of you have asked about the Colorado floods and I just have to tell you that it is mind-boggling.  I sit high above Denver and away from the mountains, so I'm just wet.  The amount of rain that we have gotten only happens every thousand years.  Even the official reports from the National Weather Service referred to "biblical proportions".   I don't think you can turn on any news station right now without seeing pictures of the destruction.   You may not know that there are still over 1,200 people unaccounted for.  By no means do they think all of those people have died, but some have.  What the news just doesn't quite capture is the virtual impossibility of the rescues and why those people are unaccounted for.  There are entire towns that have been devastated that rescuers simply cannot get to. These towns only have one or two ways in, but through mountain canyons, and all the roads are simply gone.  These people are sitting in devastated communities without phones, power, water, or sewer, waiting for the helicopters to come.

A lighter story that I haven't seen on the national news is the rescue of 400 young children from mountain camps.  Lots of elementary schools in the cities send the children to mountain camps for one or two days.  None of these children were in danger - but remember, the roads are gone...so here's their ride home! (Photo from 9News.)

I have lots of posts written for the rest of the week and I promise they don't cover difficult current events - I promise to focus on cards!!

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft
• Ink: WPlus9 white, Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn and Seedless Preserves, Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers dies, Avery Elle Royal Blend Sequins

Curtain Call: Sunflower Surprise!

It's time for another inspiration photo from Curtain Call!  It's Sunflower Surprise!

photo credit: poshtotevents.com

The sponsor for our Sunflower Surprise is Clearly Besotted Stamps.  

Clearly Besotted Stamps has generously provided Blooming Marvellous Stamps and Die Collection for each design team member!  And the LEAD that is selected from all of the entries will also win the set and the dies for themselves!

My card was obviously inspired by the bright sunflowers in the inspiration photo but also by the hint of bright blue near the center of the photo and by the wood planking.

The sentiment on this card comes from a different Clearly Besotted set You Said It, and the butterfly is from Butterfly Additions with the coordinating die.

I also made a bonus card today.  I had to make two birthday cards for two special friends.  I had made the sunflower card but the other flower in the set was calling my name too!  I decided that I would use the same layout and create a second card with the bold rose.


The butterfly on this card is from Butterfly Additions.  (The sentiment is not from Clearly Besotted.)
I have to tell you that since I got this set and have been playing with it - I have paid extra attention to other sets offered by Clearly Besotted and have ordered more!  I used their beautiful feather set here.  I have used two of their butterflies on today's cards.  The sentiment on the first card comes with word bubbles!   Just yesterday in their mail, I got their Halloween set, Fright Night, and their Signature Christmas and Addition collections - so you'll be seeing even more.  The company is based in the United Kingdom but shipping is very reasonably priced and very fast.  They are also available in the U.S. at Simon Says Stamp.

Now, it's your turn!  You have until September 25th, 8 a.m. CDT to create a new paper project inspired by the photo.  The LEAD and Show Stoppers will be chosen by the crew and announced on September 30th at 8:00 AM CDT.  I hope to see you play along!

From the Moment You Move

It was just a few months ago that I was writing about fires in Colorado, one of which burned 500 homes.  Now parts of the state are under water.  They are saying this is a hundred year flood.  There are towns cut off with washed out roads, there are towns that have been evacuated, there are videos of main streets that have turned into rivers right up to and above the front stoops of the stores, there are interstates that are lakes, there are cars that have been tumbled by collapsing roads into what used to be dry drainage ditches and are now rushing rivers.

Fortunately for my family, we live high above the Denver area on the east side, away from the mountains.  It is very, very wet here but absolutely no danger.  In fact, if I didn't have the news on all day, it would be incredibly pleasant at my house as it has finally cooled off and I love the sound of the rain. (My kids - being selfish teenagers - are just disappointed that there is school today because many major school districts have closed.)  Thank you for all of your words of concern.

---

I don't think that I have ever made a "new home" card, but I have dear friend who is making a major and fairly life-altering move.  I wanted to send her my love and best wishes and saw that I actually had the perfect stamp!  I recently organized all of my dies and remembered that I had a small rainbow so this card came together exactly as I had hoped.

The only thing that I spent a little time struggling with is the three-color rainbow, but the challenge at Stamping Royalty gave me exactly the fresh and cheerful look that I had wanted.

• Stamps: Impression Obsession (I have this in a single wood stamp, but I don't see it on their site anymore. They do have the sentiment in a clear set here. The font is slightly different.)
• Paper: Stampin' Up Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Soft Sky
• Ink: Black
• Accessories: Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles and Rainbow/Clouds die set, Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here die, clear sequins - Clearly Beloved 5mm at Simon Says Stamp

CAS(E) this Sketch! An African Violet Love You!

It's time for a new sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch!  I actually had a ton of ideas for this one!

I ended up keeping it fairly simple and also using one of the Pantone Colors from Jackie's Pantone Fashion Color Challenge - African Violet.  I'm not much into purples of any variety - but I like the soft look of this card.


I hope to see you play along with this one!

• Stamps: Avery Elle Oh Happy Day
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Winter Wisteria
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Winter Wisteria
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here die (butterfly), Memory Box Lorelai die (leaf), Papertrey Ink button

Paper Smooches: You Had Me at Merlot!

This is my second post today!

From the moment that I saw this stamp set, I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  With the fun sentiment - "you had me at merlot" - I had to create a little romance between the wine bottle and the goblet!!


The set is called Free Spirits and you can get it for free during September with a $60 purchase!  

I am having great fun this month as guest designer for Paper Smooches.  I have two more Wednesdays to go - you'll see another Free Spirits card - and one more romantic, fairy-tale card with Royal Cuteness.
I was inspired by the sketch at Paper Smooches SPARKS.  I had the little love scene created and the word bubble.  Then I saw how closely it worked with the current sketch - and it inspired me to add the little "XO" embossing!

• Stamps: Paper Smooches Free Spirits, Shadows (the oval)
• Paper: Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry
• Ink: Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry, Smoky Slate, Papertrey Ink Soft Stone
• Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, Ranger Glossy Accents, Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter, Ellen Hutson Wine Sequins