Saturday Spotlight #16: Bigger IS Better!

Stamps: Magnolia, Alota Stamps, Penny Black sentiment. Cardstock: Soft Suede, Barely Banana, Etcetera 'Party', Gina K white. Ink: Memento black, Copics, Soft Suede. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Bazzill dotted white organdy.

Many of you have probably noticed that Vicki has not been commenting on your entries which is abnormal for her and that her card is not posted here.....Vicki's computer crashed this past week due to a virus. She has had it in for repair but it looks like she won't be able to get back online until next week sometime. Hopefully she will back real soon! We miss you Vicki!!
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*Thank you so much to everyone who played along with us last week in our Let the Sunshine In challenge!*

Click HERE to see all the winners!

For this week's Saturday Spotlight #16 challenge.....
The Spotlight Divas would like to challenge you to think "bigger is better"! Use oversized bit items, accessories, images etc. that may even be too large for your card!! Get out all those BIG things and use them!

For our Spotlight sponsor this week we have...
Michelle's scrapbooking and more
(click HERE to go to store.)

**One lucky winner from our challenge in Mister Linky this week drawn from random.org will receive a set of Hannah stamps release by Sandra Hammer which is perfect for A2 cards and a $10 gift certificate from the store!! **

Bigger is definitely better when it comes to cupcakes and wishes! For my card, I also used a 'big' 5 1/2" x 5 1/2 " sized card versus the regular A2 size.

The sketch is inspired by another awesome layout from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #48.

Be sure to check out all the BIG creations by the Spotlight Divas:

Vicki (Stamped Smiles)
Chris (Twinkles Glows with Stamps)
Boni (Bonibleaux Designs)
Crystal (Crystal's Crafty Creations)
Darlene (Dar's Crafty Creations)
Dawn (My Stamping Thyme)
Erin (Scrap, Stamp and Be Merry)
Jodi (Inked Inspirations)
Maria (Joyful Stamper)

Then share your big creations by linking to this week's Saturday Spotlight challenge #16 so you can be entered in the drawing for this week's prize!

Joyful Feathered Friends

Stamps: Penny Black sentiment. Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Basic Grey 'Wassail' DP. Ink: Versamark. Accessories: fine detail white EP, circle Nestabilities, Martha Stewart snowflake punches, square punch, mini primas, gold Stickles, Basic Grey buttons.

Well, I did it -- I made a Christmas card in traditional holiday colors in January! It's my plan to stay ahead of the holiday rush (way ahead!) by creating one holiday card a week with Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge. This week's challenge was 'no coloring', so I took the easy way out and used a sentiment as the focal point.

This gorgeous DP was a gift through WRAK from Kathy (Will Stamp for Wine), as well as the gold stickles that dot the center of the mini primas. The DP made this card eligible for the WRAK challenge category 'Bird Day'. See these elegant feathered friends?


Midnight Madness sketch #38 inspired the layout; it's sort of a hybrid between their traditional sketch and the fun, new CAS sketches they are offering.

We actually have some sunshine today, our first in weeks, so it's time for me go build up some Vitamin D and enjoy the light! Hope you are enjoying some sunshine, too!!

My Cup of Tea!

Stamps: Basic Grey 'Cup of Tea', SU Background. Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey 'Bittersweet'. Ink: Creamy Caramel. Accessories: brads, teapot charm, organdy vanilla ribbon.

Woo hoo -- I finally completed a WRAK challenge; it's been months! It's a color challenge to use Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, and Creamy Caramel. Not only do I rarely (ever?) use caramel, but it's pretty uncommon for me to use gold, either. I'm a silver kind of gal! But thanks to this elegant charm sent to me by my buddy, Jacque, I was inspired to give the challenge a go.

I just couldn't make myself use Caramel, but I did find this Basic Grey DP that has shades of caramel (in small doses) and the sentiment is stamped in caramel, too.

The WRAK item, the floral pink cardstock, is from another buddy, Lena (tackertwosome); thanks, Lena! And although not through WRAK, I received these perfect shade of pink brads from my friend Joanna (Sitting on Copic Pens and Needles), so thanks going out to Joanna, too.

Tuesday Morning Sketch #30 is the inspiration for the layout. I went with CAS because the colors of the fun rectangle/square elements really seem to pop off the vanilla background.

Speaking of Jacque, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers because she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. You can read about this newest stumbling block in a tough year HERE and leave a supportive note, if you'd like. She's such a strong lady and amazingly generous, too -- she's offering some awesome blog candy in the very post where she announced her diagnosis! Take care, Jacque; we're pulling for you!!

Card Kit to the Rescue!

Stamps: SU 'For Father', Papertrey 'Birthday Basics'. Cardstock: Stampin Up. Accessories: Stamping Bella dots, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, twine, Rectangle Nestablities.

I have the BEST Secret Sis!

Angela (monkeymama of Just Monkeying Around) came up with the wonderful idea to host a Secret Sister Card Kit swap over on SplitCoast Stampers. It was definitely my lucky day when the matches were made because look at one of the first kits my sis sent:

And I didn't think to photograph the kit contents until after I created the first card!

Perfect timing, too, because my dad's birthday is coming up in February and I have a terrible time creating masculine cards. How could I not be inspired by this wonderful kit?? Thanks also to Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #57 for a great sketch to utilize my kit goodies.

I even decorated the inside since I wanted to be sure to let Dad know a birthday is a good day to let the tools rest:


It feels good to have card ready to go and not be frantically stamping to beat the mail truck! Thanks, Secret Sis!!

Together Forever

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio. Cardstock: Papertrey, Imagninesence DP. Ink: Memento black, Copics. Accessories: oval Nestabilities, Papertrey ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch.

Such a sweet image and so much fun to color! Huge thanks going out to my stamping buddy, Angela (Just Monkeying Around), who made my day by surprising me a card kit containing every supply on this card, plus so much more. And if you've ever received one of Angela's kits, you know she is the queen of card kits, always including the finest ingredients and plenty of them!!

Inspiration for this layout came from Midnight Madness sketch #37. Have you seen how they are not only giving previews of the upcoming week for those who like to work ahead, but are also offering a CAS version in addition the more elaborate sketches? Great inspiration and more user friendly, too!

Saturday Spotlight Challenge #15: Let the Sunshine In!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, French Script, Hero Arts 'Life with Sunshine'. Cardstock: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, black. Ink: Versafine Onyx, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Really Rust. Accessories: Martha Stewart zig zag border punch, Bazzill black gingham ribbon.

Are you feeling the winter blues? The past week has brought us nothing but fog and drizzle, creating an all-around dreary atmosphere. To brighten the day.....

The Spotlight Divas would like to challenge you to LET THE SUNSHINE IN!! Since we want to be done with all those wild snowflakes from last week, we thought this week we would ask you to get your bright colors or use mostly "yellow" or monochromatic yellow for your creations this week!

(The theme fits perfectly with our sponsor for this week!)


For our Spotlight sponsor this week we have...

(click HERE to go to store.)

For my challenge card, I decided to go literal and use the sun as a focal point. This image panel is inspired by the talented Michelle Zindorf, but there's actually no brayering involved -- it's all sponging! Check out Michelle's tutorial HERE.

Now it's your turn to show us how you Let the Sunshine In! **One lucky winner from our challenge in Mister Linky this week drawn from random.org will receive 3 free images from the store!! How cool is that?!**

Be sure to check out the other Spotlight Diva's sunshine:

Vicki (Stamped Smiles)
Chris (Twinkles Glows with Stamps)
Boni (Bonibleaux Designs)
Crystal (Crystal's Crafty Creations)
Darlene (Dar's Crafty Creations)
Dawn (My Stamping Thyme)
Erin (Scrap, Stamp and Be Merry)
Jodi (Inked Inspirations)
Maria (Joyful Stamper)

Wishing you sunny days or at least time to create your own!

Clean and Simple Birthday Wishes

Stamps: Penny Black sentiment. Cardstock: Black, My Mind's Eye 'Party Time'. Ink: Versamark. Accessories: Detail white EP, 1 1/8" circle punch.

One more card to add to my birthday card stockpile! This CAS design was inspired by Tuesday Morning sketch #29. I used the sketch exactly as drawn with no embellishments (not even ribbon!); it's the glitter DP that adds some pizzazz:


It could almost be a masculine card, couldn't it?

Remember to wish big; I'm wishing for the rain and fog to go away! Stay tuned for tomorrow's Saturday Spotlight challenge -- it's sure to brighten your day!!

Warmer Winters

Stamps: Stampendous 'Winter Warm'. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Textured white, Papertrey white, DCWV Winter Mat Stack. Ink: Memento black, Copics, Versamark. Accessories: glitter snowflake brads, heart punch, Martha Stewart snowflake border punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, square Nestabilities.

I'm still working on those New Year's Resolutions, like the one to actually use the supplies I buy. Case in point: I just couldn't resist this Stampendous acrylic set which was not only adorable, but 40% off $4.99, so I bought it and brought it home to collect dust. Until now! A little lighter conscience so I can enjoy these cuties:


Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge is inspiring me to keep up with holiday cards. I'm still a bit too burnt out to tackle Santa or holly images, so I'm keeping up with winter themes. This week's challenge #7 is a sketch, so I couldn't miss out on that one!

This card also fits with this week's Saturday Spotlight challenge: Snowflakes Gone Wild! Can you spot the three different types of snowflakes making their appearance? There's still time to link your creation HERE and be eligible for the prize drawing of a $25 gift certificate towards Hambo Stamps digi images!

Time for me to go enjoy the warmer weather, which in today's case means rain, and 'enjoying' means admiring from afar with hot cocoa and a good book!

Fabulous Freebie Feline!

Stamps: winkwinkink free Cat digi, Papertrey 'Mixed Messages' sentiment. Cardstock: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Bo Bunny 'Petshop Words' DP, GP 110 white. Ink: Copics, Night of Navy. Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities, Bazzill grosgrain ribbon.

Isn't this a great cat image? Melanie just started a new stamp company, *wink*wink*ink; stop by her blog and pick up this kitty for free!

The sentiments from the original Papertrey 'Mixed Messages' fit perfectly on the envelope to create any theme; I'm still stocking up on birthday cards, so that's the message I went for. Not in the mood for coloring? The files also come with a pre-colored image. Be sure to check out the other cute critter digis now available, too.

The sketch is inspired by Laura's sketch #43 over at 2sketches4you -- isn't it a great way to use the really wide ribbon?

And to follow through on a blogging resolution, here's a photo of the inside which actually has a sentiment and bit of decoration:

Time for me to go enjoy my morning coffee. I can't believe I'm blogging even before the first dose of caffeine, so you have to excuse any minor incoherencies!

Get Well Soon, Lily!

**Click HERE to view the latest Saturday Spotlight challenge, 'Snowflakes Gone Wild!'**

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio digi 'Sick Lily', free sentiment. Cardstock: kraft, Bashful Printed Patterns, Chocolate Chip Printed Patterns, GP 110 white. Ink: Copics. Accessories: Square Nestabilities, chocolate silk grosgrain ribbon, Stardust glitter pen.

Oh, the fun of digis! I resized this 'Sick Lily' image to the perfect dimensions to fit Midnight Madness sketch #36 and then re-sized the free accompanying sentiment to fit, too!


The color combo is this week's Dancing in Pajamas' TCP challenge to use kraft, chocolate (for some reason my camera/computer loves to make Chocolate Chip look more like a Basic Black), and baby blue in honor of in honor of a wee bitty boy, Nicolas del Muro and his proud mum, Jen Del Muro. Congratulations to Jen!

Wishing everyone a healthy day, but keeping an extra get well soon card on hand just in case!

Saturday Spotlight #14: Snowflakes Gone Wild!

Stamps: Magnolia 'So Cozy Tilda', Papertrey 'Mailbox Messages' sentiment. Cardstock: Textured red, linen white, silver, Magnolia winter DP. Ink: Memento black, Real Red, Copics. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, felt ribbon, Martha Stewart snowflake border punch, CB snowflakes embossing folder, flocking.

Let it snow! For this week's Saturday Spotlight challenge #14.....

The Spotlight Divas would like to challenge you to GET WILD WITH YOUR SNOWFLAKES!! Use LOTS of them on your creation or use them in a unique way like making a wreath or a fun snowflake flower. Just get 'wild' with them!!

For our Spotlight sponsor this week we have...

(click HERE to go to store.)

**One lucky winner from our challenge in Mister Linky this week drawn from random.org will receive $25.00 towards the purchase of Hambo's Digital Designs!** Wow! (This is enough to get as many as 6-8 images! I've been told they've just added some brand new ones too!)

For my card, I went with a snow angel theme; I'm so happy to see the Tilda angels are winged again! There are actually three different blizzards: embossed in the silver panel, the snowfall on this wonderful DP by Magnolia, and the embossed border punch on the white panel. Every angel wing deserves a bit of sparkle, and I also added flocking to keep her cozy:

This card was inspired by three other challenges as well:

1) Roses on Paper: 'Show us Winter!'.

2) Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge week #6 encouraged us to include dry embossing.

3) The fun sketch is courtesy of Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge #56. I switched out the rectangle image for this circle because Tilda looked more comfortable seated here.

Be sure to check out the other Spotlight Diva's snowflakes gone wild:

Vicki (Stamped Smiles)
Chris (Twinkles Glows with Stamps)
Boni (Bonibleaux Designs)
Crystal (Crystal's Crafty Creations)
Darlene (Dar's Crafty Creations)
Dawn (My Stamping Thyme)
Erin (Scrap, Stamp and Be Merry)
Jodi (Inked Inspirations)
Maria (Joyful Stamper)

We're finally enjoying a bit of warmer weather after the frigid past few weeks, so the only snow I'll be admiring is in your creations! Be sure to link your projects HERE and show us your snowflakes gone wild!!

It's My First Blogaversary!

**This blog candy post is now closed; see THIS POST for the winner!**

It's been a whole year since I joined the blogging world and we know what that means -- someone out there gets some yummy blog candy! Here's what I've gathered to celebrate 365 days of blogging fun:

**Two Tildas (unmounted) from the yet-to-be released Valentine Collection

**MarcellaK 'Ancestry' Scrap pad

**Making Memories 'Vintage Findings' multi-pack trims

**Cuttlebug 'Spots & Dots' Embossing Folder

**Martha Stewart gold glitter

**12 mini acrylic stamps sets to celebrate my 12 months of blogging!

How to be entered in the drawing for this candy package:

1) Become a follower of this blog.
2) Help me spread the word by posting a link on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, by otherwise getting the word out.
3) Optional, but appreciated: suggestions for what you'd like to see on my blog in the coming year!

This blog candy will close at 7 am CST on January 15th (the date of my first posting!) and the winning post comment number will be drawn courtesy of random.org. Be sure to check back later that day for the winner announcement.

Thanks for helping me celebrate my blogaversary!!

Blogoversary Winner!

Let me say thank you for all the wonderful comments and notes of support regarding my first year of blogging! According to Random.org, our winner of the Blogoversary candy is #32:

sweetpz said...
Congrats Jess on your 1year blogaversary!! ow exciting, wishing you much more success in the new year and the years to come

Thanks for hte chance to win your yummmy blog candy... ( hehe i am eyeing the cuttlebug embossing folder!)

I'm a follower, but i don't have a blog as of yet...
As for anything i'd like to see on here, maybe some tutorials on your fave cards?

hugs,
Juli

Congratulations, Juli!! Please e-mail me (jlazarski@charter.net) with your address info to claim your candy!

As an optional part of the drawing, I asked for suggestions on how to improve my blog for the coming year. The most popular suggestion by far was to include more tutorials! I'm a huge fan of tutorials, so I think I can definitely work on that. In the meantime, I'll find a way to link tutorials I've already created for easy 1-stop access.

Now for a little bonus fun! In addition to the tutorial requests, there were these blog suggestions that I'm adding to my 'Blogging To Do' list:

Vicki: participating in more Magnolia challenges
Stay tuned this Saturday, Vicki!

Sol: purple color combos
You are right, Sol, purple is not a common color for me (HERE's the only card I can think of where I used it) and it will be a fun challenge to incorporate more of it!

helen: more CAS cards
This reinforces my plan to downsize in all matters for 2010, including the card clutter. Well, maybe occasionally!

scraphappy4067: show the inside decorations of cards
Right now, I don't show the insides because usually there's not a lot to show. I've decided to do better this year and remember that the inside is a canvas and deserves a little decoration, too!

**Vicki, Sol, helen, and scraphappy4067 -- thaks so much for these fun and helpful suggestions. Please e-mail me (jlazarski@charter.net) with with your name and address info so I can send you a little treat in appreciation!

Thanks to everyone who participated in my first Blogversary celebration -- see you next year!!

Wish Upon a Star

Stamps: Verve Visual 'Wonderful Wishes', DRS Designs 'Star Background'. Cardstock: my grafico 'Lindsey Scrap Station Winter Add-on', linen black, textured red, Basic Grey 'Gypsy' pink. Ink: Real Red, Versamark. Accessories: Stardust EP, Bazzill black gingham ribbon, corner rounder, Stardust glitter pen.

Just a quick post because I couldn't miss out on one of my favorite challenges of the week: Order of the Opus Gluei. This week's #37 is 'You're a Star' and challenged us to use lots of star shapes on our creations. This mini 3" x 3" card is based on my grafico Sketch Challenge #31 and not only has the star punch as the focal point, but also glittery stars on the triangle panel, stars surrounding the inside sentiment, and a star border on the vellum envelope!

Now it's time for me to get off this computer and go admire some real stars during our balmy 40 degree heatwave!

Happy Hearts

Stamps: Hero Arts 'Happiness Messages'. Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Basic Grey 'Bittersweet' DP. Ink: Chocolate Chip. Accessories: heart punch, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Basic Grey mini buttons.

This is one of my all-time favorite sentiments; whenever I see it I think of Madame Blueberry! Any other Veggie Tales fans out there? Here's some of the 'Thankful Heart' lyrics:

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

Out of the mouth of singing babes? It's definitely a worthwhile motto to live by.

This card may be CAS, but still manages to encompass two challenges:

Sweet Sunday sketch challenge #51; this is probably the closest I've ever come to exactly following a sketch!

Tuesday Morning sketch #28 is taking a break from sketches and challenging us to use buttons and bows; see the little mini buttons next to the sentiment?

Wishing you a happy heart kind of day!

More Cocoa, Please!

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio 'LilyHot Cocoa', freebie sentiment. Cardstock: DCWV textured blue and 'winter mat stack', Night of Navy, GP 110 white. Ink: Copics. Accessories: white flocking, glitter snowflake brad, Adornaments fiber.

These digital images by Pink Cat Studio (PCS) are not only adorable and easy to store, but they can also be re-sized to fit any sketch like this fun sketch #35 by the Midnight Madness team. And PCS even has accompanying digital sentiments for free!

Like most of the Midwest, we've been experiencing frigid temperatures for the past week. It's so cold that the snow squeaks when you walk on it and you don't dare go outside without being completely bundled up like Ralphie (I can't put my arms down!). Despite this, we actually took the girls out sledding since it was the first 'sleddable' snow (barely) of the season:

We also found this pre-made igloo, the perfect winter playhouse:

Lily is definitely ready for the weather; not only does she have her hot cocoa, but she's also wearing her flock-trimmed winter gear:

Stay warm and keep that hot cocoa steaming!

Saturday Spotlight 13: Love Without Hearts!

Stamps: Stampabilties 'Wreath Love 02'. Cardstock: Kraft, Papertrey white, Basic Grey 'Bittersweet'. Ink: Memento black, Copics. Accessories: SU scallop border punch, Papertrey chocolate satin ribbon, Basic Grey rub-on sentiment.

Are you ready for another unique challenge at Saturday Spotlight?! Here is what the Spotlight Divas are challenging YOU to try:

The Spotlight Divas would like to challenge you to make a Valentine/wedding/love style creation with NO HEARTS used on it!! So think of another way to represent "love" without using hearts!

Our Spotlight sponsor this week is...

(click HERE to go to store.)

For my challenge, I used the elegant Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #55 and combined it with my first-ever House Mouse stamp. These two little cuties started my obsession with the cute critters, but I have to admit that it is NOT an easy image to color with everything on such a miniature scale!

These two definitely qualify in the 'romantic' category, especially when combined with the sweet Basic Grey rub-on sentiment.

Be sure to check out the other Spotlight Diva's definitions of romance:

Vicki (Stamped Smiles)
Chris (Twinkles Glows with Stamps)
Boni (Bonibleaux Designs)
Crystal (Crystal's Crafty Creations)
Darlene (Dar's Crafty Creations)
Dawn (My Stamping Thyme)
Erin (Scrap, Stamp and Be Merry)
Jodi (Inked Inspirations)
Maria (Joyful Stamper)

Then link up your own creations to the Saturday Spotlight #13 post for a chance to win the following:

**One lucky winner from our challenge in Mister Linky this week drawn from random.org will receive a 10 pounds gift voucher to spend in the store!!**

MWAH!

Sparkling Birthday Wishes

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio 'Sugarplum fairy', Stamping Bella sentiment. Cardstock: Papertrey Poppy, DCWV 'Citrus Stack' DP, GP 110 white. Ink: Copics. Accessories: Papertrey Poppy grosgrain ribbon, Stardust glitter pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, gem brad.

After finally organizing my card stash, I realized I'm still running low on birthday cards so it's time to challenge myself to stock up! Lucky for me, this fun sketch #27 by Tuesday Morning Sketches is the perfect layout for showcasing bits of this cheery DP. Doesn't it feel like a touch of summer?

The TCP Tuesday challenge by Dancing in Pajamas is to be 'glitterific' so I used glittery DP, Dazzling Diamonds on her wings, and a Stardust glitter pen to provide more sparkly accents:


Stay tuned for tomorrow's Saturday Spotlight; it's a great challenge to keep you on track in 2010!