Life's Moments

Stamps: Magnolia 'Tilda with Bike', Hero Arts sentiment. Cardstock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Papertrey white, Basic Grey 'Sugared' and 'Porcelain'. Ink: Memento black, Copics, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Long Rectangle Nestabilities, wide pink grosgrain, Prima, Basic Grey 'Porcelain' brad.

This ribbon is one of those items I just had to have, but then couldn't figure out how to use it without overpowering the project. This week's sketch #67 by the Friday Sketcher's team was the perfect solution because it allows the ribbon and image to share the stage!

I'm off to catch up on some Design Team cards; my moments will be filled with a marathon stamping session today.

Wishing you many happy moments in your day, too!

Autumn Greetings

Stamps by DRS Designs: Scarecrow with Fence P377, Happy Thanksgiving sentiment B069, Vicki's Versatile Background H369. Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Summer Sun, Black, GP110 white, kraft. Ink: Memento black, Copics. Accessories: twine, sunflower primas, Word Window Punch.

Cooler temperatures that we've been having lately makes it feel like autumn has already arrived -- I'm loving it! It definitely helps me get into the mood for creating some Fall holiday cards like this one inspired by the Midnight Madness sketch #17.

DRS Designs is sponsoring the next four weeks of September sketches over on the Midnight Madness challenge blog, so be sure to play along for your chance at great prizes like a $50 gift certificate to choose your own variety of DRS stamps!

September SheetLoad Issue Now Live!

It is time for the new issue of SheetLoad of Cards - September 2009 - sponsored by JessicaLynnOriginal!


Head over to the blog today to download your FREE copy and make sure to check back later this month for chances to win prizes from the sponsor.

One Last Taste of Chocolate

Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy (Chocoholic). Ink: Stampin Up (Riding Hood Red), Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Copics. Cardstock: Stampin Up (Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Candy Cane Lane, Very Vanilla). Accessories: Stampin Up (Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, scallop border punch), Spellbinders (oval Nestabilities).

If this project looks vaguely familiar, it's probably because I posted the coordinating card at the beginning of the month. Can you tell I'm a fan of gift sets?

The card is straight from the August SheetLoad sketch without any extra layers or embellishments and so is the top of this box. The gift box is based on the Scor Pal 'Soap Box' tutorial by Kitty Franken. Who needs extra embellishments when you have a great sketch by Liz Weber, yummy DP, and chocolate??

One of my stamping buddies asked how the props fared after the photo shoot -- and the answe is not so well! I'm just proud of myself that the chocolate lasted long enough to take the photos!

September SheetLoad Sneak Peeks

The sneak peeks at the September issue are up over at SheetLoad of Cards. The new issue will be available for FREE download starting Tuesday, September 1st.

Clean and Simple Thank You

Stamps: Papertrey 'Limitless Labels' sentiment. Cardstock: DCWV glitter card base, DCWV Winter stack, SU Bashful Blue Print Patterns. Ink: Night of Navy. Accessories: Marcella K Christmas Snowflakes Page Accent.

OK, I fibbed -- I'll be posting quite a few Christmas cards over the next two months. Scrooges beware! It's all for good reasons, though. First, it's my way of stocking up on holiday thank you notes for the post-holiday season.

On a less self-serving note, I'll also be creating a new card every week to donate to the DRS Designs-sponsored Cards For Heroes Holiday Card Drive. Stay tuned starting September 7th for more posts on that drive and to learn how you can send cards to the troops and earn your chances for prizes, too.

Today's card is inspired by the Fall To sketch #57 from the Clean & Simple Stamping Blog. I have a special fondness for sketches that use the mini squares because they encourage me to break into my hoard of DPs and actually use all these beautiful papers. Plus, using a glittery card base (much more impressive in real life) makes it a quick technique for a true Clean and Simple card. That's a real bonus when I need to create 10 of these babies a month to catch up on my Christmas Card challenge!

Hope you will hang with me through my early holiday celebration; I promise to also sneak in some not-so-snowy cards, too!

Strong Coffee and Successful Women

Stamps: Gina K. Carstock: Corrugated kraft card base, Papertrey white, Certainly Celery Printed Patterns, Elegant Eggplant. Accessories: brads.

On to another of my favorites -- coffee! Caffeine is definitely the key to my stamping productivity; throw in a couple of challenges and you have the recipe for a fun card. This card was inspired by the Midnight Madness Sketch #16 and Tuesday Morning's Color Combo challenge to use kraft, celery, and eggplant.

These kraft card bases were on clearance at Michael's so I had to buy them, knowing they would make a great start for coffee-themed cards. They would also be appropriate for moving or welcome to a new home themes as well. Versatility, ease of use, and a bargain , all in one!

**Are you a fan of challenges, too? How about blog candy? Well, have I got a new blog for you! Vicki, my very talented stamping buddy and fellow DRS Designs DT member is starting up a new challenge blog the beginning of October. It's called Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential and you can have a sneak peek here, along with details on the blog candy AND call for Spotlight Divas!

Now I'm off to enjoy some afternoon coffee!