Celebrate Today!

Hi Friends and Stampers,

This is Holly, I am subbing for Laura today who got called into work.  So I am not sure she will be celebrating today, but she might be celebrating her days off coming up, lol.  I'm sure she will be ready for them. 

What are you Celebrating today?  I'm home with my youngest who has the flu, and I am celebrating that I am the luckiest Mom ever!  He is really quite good about it all and even though most laughs end in a spurt of coughing spells, he continues to play on his Ipad, laughing and not letting the fact that he feels miserable ruin his day.   Wow, I could learn a lot from him, lol.

Today is Ceal's Inspiration Thursday and she is Celebrating some one's 60th birthday.  Let's hop on over to her blog and find out who :)

The colors are fabulous!  I love the White, Black, Turquoise and Red together.  It really pops off the Kraft colored background.  I love her card design, hexagon's are all the rage right now and the patters and textures are perfect together.  She has kept with this weeks Challenge Theme of Have A Heart.  Love the little hearts within the heart shapes on the middle hexagon.    She is using a Paper Smooches stamp set, Bo Bunny 6X6 paper pad and By the number die-namics by My Favorite Things. 

Make sure you check back to the NEW ITEMS listed in the store, Laura has been adding quite a few things.  And I know you want to check it  this weekend.   Laura is planning on adding more items!!!  I am so over the top excited about what she is adding .... you might say I'm about ready to Celebrate!  Okay, bad pun.  lol. 

And on that note, I will thank you for stopping by and hope you have something wonderful to Celebrate soon!

Holly

Ready for Spring!

Hi Stampers!

We are having quite the windy, snowy, blowy, yucky day here in Iowa! I had to work the overnight shift and this is how my drive home looked at 7:30 this morning....

We had white out conditions and you could only see one line ahead of your car. Luckily, once you were out in the open country it was blowing so hard it wasn't really sticking to the roads so the pavement was mostly clear. There were a few nasty spots still. In town and the east/west roads were awful...totally snow, tire ruts, ice and slush covered! Your car would get pulled and slid everywhere when you were trying to drive. That part wasn't fun! And before you ask...I was stopped when I took this picture with my phone :)

The winds are supposed to stay blowing around 40 mph all day whipping this snow around! Yuck! Good thing it is my bedtime so I don't have to be out in it... at least until I tredge to work tonight - LOL!

Anyway...my card today is much prettier to look at and reminds of a beautiful Spring or Summer day which I am totally ready for - LOL!

This week at The Cutting Cafe we could choose from  four different files - Onesie Shaped Card, Overalls Shaped Card, Assorted Crown Shaped Cards or The Butterfly Shaped Card. It was a tough decision this week because these are all such adorable files! I decided to use the Butterfly shaped card and made my Grandma's Birthday card. She was 75 Monday! She is currently battling breast cancer for the second time and will be having to have a masectomy. So I wanted to make her something a little extra special.

Here is my card closed...

I used the Butterfly Shaped Card for my base and then I used the Butterfly - Beautiful Wings Die from Stampin Up! to create a smaller set of wings so I could have a 3D layered butterfly. I did two layers for each size, one in pink pirouette and the other in vellum which I embossed in white with the Take Flight stamp set from Tim Holtz. I will be adding some Tim Holtz stamps to my store this week, including this stamp set :)

The extra special thing about this card is that I created it into an Easel card so Grandma could keep it on display and easily see that beautiful butterfly...

The inside roses hold the butterfly up so it makes it's own stand. I also added a corrugated heart and the banner and sentiment from the Tattered Angels Vintage Seasons Timeless Romance set. My flourish is the My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish Die-Namics. Grandma really loved it :)

I hope you enjoyed it also! Be sure to stop by The Cutting Cafe blog this afternoon and see what my fellow design team members have created! I am sure that as adorable as these files are...there will be a lot of amazing projects!

Thanks for stopping by!
Laura

I will be entering this into the following challenges:

Happy Birthday To My Grandma!

Hi Stampers!

Hope you had an amazing day! I spent the day unpacking some new arrival goodies and getting some orders sent out :) Love new goodie mail days! I will be getting some new stuff listed later this evening :)

We are just getting ready to have a huge family dinner for my Grandma's Birthday! Yep, she is 75 today! I wanted to get be sure to get my post done before we head out! Olivia's card today is PERFECT because she created a super cute birthday card :) How awesome is that!

Olivia used the adorable Birthday Girl image from the A la Modes collection from My Favorite Things. Those gorgeous papers are from the Simple Stories paper pack called Fabulous. That are so pretty! I especially love that vintage doily one! The little tag is made using the My Favorite Things Die-Namics notched tag and stamp set. Such a beautiful card with such gorgeous colors!

Well...I better finish getting ready so we can head out! Have a great night all!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

Sensational Sunday Inspirations + Blog Candy

Hi Stampers!

Hope your weekend is going well so far! Our weather is super cruddy today! We have had freezing rain off and on since 3am this morning. It is like an ice skating rink outside! I felt bad for our puppies because I let them out to go potty and when they jumped on the stairs their feet went out from under them and they face planted because they were not expecting the slick! LOL! It is the perfect day to stay home and get some crafting done today :) I have TONS of projects running through my brain so I hope I can focus and at least get ONE finished - LOL! The hard part will be what to make first :D

Here is our random winner of last week's BLOG CANDY GIVE-AWAY! According to the random.org is...

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2013-01-27 15:28:26 UTC

Comment #6 - Leanne - LEEARTS - Leanne said: Lovely creations! So glad Terriavidreader won as I landed here via her blog.

Congratulations Leanne! Please send me an email at lovesrubberstamps@yahoo.com and I will send you your code for a $10.00 gift voucher to the Loves Rubberstamps store!

Remember... EVERY SUNDAY... you will have the chance to win a gift voucher to the Loves Rubberstamps Store.... just for leaving a comment on the post! Winner will be chose with random.org and will be announced on the following Sunday's post!

To try and win a $5.00 Gift Voucher - Just leave a Comment on this Post - that's it - nothing else!!

To try and win a $10.00 Gift Voucher - (we will check these)
                                       1. Be a FOLLOWER of this Blog
                                       2. Be a FOLLOWER of The Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog
                                       3. Be our fan on Facebook
                                       4. Add our Blog Candy Badge to your blog
                                       5. Leave a Comment on this post to show love to the DT

Now on to today's blast of inspiration from our talented Design Team! Here we go....

Shanna Shands

Magnolia Stamps - With Love Collection - Tilda Blowing Hearts

My Mind's Eye - Lucky In Love 6x6 Paper pack

My Favorite Things Die-Namics - Open Scallop Edge Die

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Walnut Stain 

 

This is sooo sooo gorgeous! Shanna always blows me away with her beautiful coloring! I love the gorgeous colors, and the flower accent with the sheer ribbon! It goes perfectly with this! If you want to own some of Shanna's gorgeous cards she sells some of them on Etsy. I just HAD to buy two of them last week :D and I have to say that they are even more gorgeous in person! Check out her store when you get a chance!

 

 

Marcy Dangcil

Whimsy Stamps - Kenny K Collection - Hot Weave

Whimsy Stamps - The Fun Life Tickets

Memento Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Broken China

The Best Glue Ever!

 

This is absolutely STUNNING! The blues are so soft & pretty and this image looks awesome done in these colors! I love all the pretty flowers and that gorgeous ribbon is perfect! Check out the bling flourishes too! Marcy told me that she created this for a friend and I am sure that her friend is not only super lucky to receive a gorgeous gift like this, but I know that she will treasure it always! Such a beautiful job!!

Athina Emory

C.C. Designs - Swiss Pixie Collection - Devilish Lucy

My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found 3 Ruby 6x6 Paper pack

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Spellbinders Labels

How adorable is this?!?! I LOVE how Athina used her little Devil Lucy for Valentine's Day! What a fun image to use on a card for your hubby or significant other...a little naughty love devil - LOL! Well her little devil has a sweet side you can tell by the pretty bling and flower accents. Perfect balance between naughty and nice! I am blown away by Athina's coloring too! Such a gorgeous job! I absolutely love this card!

Lydia Walker

Lawn Fawn - My Cup of Tea

My Favorite Things Die-Namics - Faux Crochet Border Die

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Black Soot

This is such an adorable and totally sweet card! I love the black and white with the splash of gorgeous blue for the tea steam! I love how Lydia made this look like a little lacy table cloth for the tea pot and tea cup to sit on! Such an elegant card that would be perfect for many occasions!

Olivia Marmara

Belles 'N Whistles - Sweet Love

Spellbinders - Circle Dies

 

I was super excited to see that Olivia was able to join the inspiration blast this week! Her project is gorgeous! I love the vintage, shabby chic look of this cute card that is perfect for Valentine's day! The accents that Olivia chose are so pretty...the flowers, the pearl flourishes, the lace, the doily! I love it all!! Not to mention that her coloring of that adorable image is so pretty! Beautiful job Olivia!!

 

Dangina Martinez

Crafter's Companion - Toread Collection - Sky

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

 

Did you hear that loud squeal of excitement about an hour ago? Don't be alarmed - that was just me when I opened up this week's project folder and saw Dangina's project for this week!! Words can not even describe how ADORABLE this is!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Check out the layering on this!!! WOW WOW WOW!! This just totally makes you smile...and you just can't stop looking at it - LOL! I am completely in love with this!! AWESOME JOB DANGINA!!!

I am just awe-struck at this week's GORGEOUS creations by the Design Team!! I have to pinch myself to make sure that having these talented ladies designing for our store is real and not a dream! You all did a SUPER FABULOUS job and definitely inspired me to get my behind down to my craft room and get busy!

I hope our team inspired you as much as they did me! Don't forget to leave your comment so you are in this week's chance drawing! Thanks for popping by!

Happy Stampin!
Laura & The Loves Rubberstamps Design Team

Busy Doing Nothing...

Hi Stampers!

Hope your weekend is going well so far! I have a busy weekend planned of working in the store, getting all my tax stuff ready for the accountant or as close as I can, doing a little crafting AND doing some housecleaning only because Holly is making me :D Just kidding...I need to clean because my clutter is driving me nuts! LOL!

I wanted to let you know that if you tried to visit the blog or the store today and you use Google Chrome, you may have got a malware warning. Apparently every website that had the Stamping Top 50 badge on it was triggering that warning. Rest assured that it was not our site and I have removed the Stamping Top 50 badge and now seems to be working fine.

Also... if you are a Saturated Canary fan... Krista is giving away one of her super cute digi stamps that is perfect for Valentine's Day today on her blog. It started today at 3pm EST and will only be available for 24 hours! I got mine and it is super cute.... click here to get your's!

It is time for our Saturday Stunner from Jacqueline! She has a real beauty for you today too!

This is GORGEOUS! Makes me yearn for warm summer days - LOL! This adorable image is called Busy Doing Nothing by Sheena Douglass from Crafter's Companion. Jacqueline colored this using her copic markers. I think she did a beautiful job, almost reminds me of watercolors. I love the warm oranges and the pretty polka dot ribbon! That sentiment is a beautiful touch!

Hope you all have an amazing weekend! Be sure to play along in our Inspiration Challenge this week! The entries we have had so far are all AWESOME! they have been doing an excellent job at using the inspiration pieces they choose! Check it out here!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

Tippy Toe through the HOLLYHocks!

Hi Stampers!

Wow! Did I take a power nap today! After working the overnight shift and getting off work at 7am this morning I had a bunch of errands to run so I didn't get to lay down until 2 this afternoon. I planned on only sleeping for a few hours until about 6 or 7pm so I could get on a more "normal" overnight schedule and what I do I do.... slept till JUST NOW.... 12:26 am! GRRRRRR!!! LOL! So much for a power nap...turned into a full "nights" sleep!

I do halfway remember my daughter coming in and hounding me to spend the night at a friends because they wanted to have a girls movie night. She was like I have to know now! I remember glancing at the clock with half an eye and said...why do you need to know RIGHT this minute it is 7 o'clock in the morning! She was like no Mom it is 7 o'clock at NIGHT! Then back to sleep I went! Oh well...there are worse things I could get them some sleep that apparently I needed - LOL!

Today I have the cutest card ever to share with you from Holly! She used all La La Land images and dies. I have just added some of the dies to the store and will be adding some new images too so be sure to check them out. In fact... I will be listing some more new items a little bit later ... including a new stamp line that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! :D

I totally adore this card! The colors are so rich and vibrant! It is just simply beautiful! Holly used the Dress Up Marci image from La La Land and colored her up so amazing as always! Those GORGEOUS background flowers are Hollyhocks which are also from La La Land! Can you believe that the main scene is one layer? AWESOME!! Holly masked off her Marci image to stamp the flowers... then used her AIRBRUSH to create the grass and sky! She colored the flowers up and then removed her mask and colored her Marci! Holly is the QUEEN of airbrushing! I have never tried it but she does it so beautifully it makes me want too!

If you take a peek around Holly's card you will see some of the new dies we have listed... the gorgeous roses...that stunning filigree corner... the amazing large flourish leaves sticking out around the edges.... such beautiful layering and pieces!

I hope you loved today's inspirational piece from Holly as much as I do!

Have a great day or night whatever it may be for you - LOL!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

A Little Washi

Hi Stampers!

I just wanted to get this post up before I get some zzz's since I have to work another 12 hour shift tonight....ugh! At least this is my "Friday" and I have two days off :) Yay! I have LOTS of stuff to pack into those two days though - LOL!

Today is Thursday and that means it is Ceal's day to share some inspiration with you! She created a pretty clean and simple design using the new My Mind's Eye Ruby Collection stamps and the matching Ruby Decorative Tape.

Doesn't this make a beautiful quick card when you need something in a hurry? I think so! Pink and craft is one of my favorite color combinations too!

Be sure to play along with us in our Inspiration Challenge this week! It is a ton of fun!

Have a great day all & happy stampin!
Laura

Shabby Chic Valentine

Hi Stampers!

Happy Wednesday! This week I have been working some crazy hours so I combined my Design Team project for The Cutting Cafe with my inspirational piece for this week's Loves Rubberstamps Challenge because I wasn't going to have much time to craft. It actually all fell together perfectly I think :)

This week at The Cutting Cafe we are creating some more Valentine's Day Inspirational projects. Regina gave us a few choices for files to use. We could pick from Valentine's Mini Sentiments Backgrounds Printable Stamp Set, Fun With Hearts Printable Stamp Set, Heart Lace Shaped Card, or the Valentine Window Tops. All of these are so pretty and fun!

I chose the Valentine Mini Sentiments Backgrounds for my project. What I loved about this one is you can select one of the backgrounds, I used the Be Mine one, and place the pictures side by side and it creates the perfect background paper :) LOVE that!!

Here is a look at my project...

I wanted a shabby chic, vintage feel for my card today. The image I chose is from Saturated Canary called Free Hugs. This is the first time I have got to color this cutie... AND my very first time using copic markers! Yep...I bought my first 3 colors for hair :) I have a lot of practicing to do but I didn't think it turned out too bad for my first copic hair experience :) The rest of my image is colored with Spectrum Noir Alcohol Ink Markers. I layered my image on a doily that I sponged to make it look more aged. My pink background paper is from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Madison Avenue paper pack.

Here is a close up of my Saturated Canary Image...

This week in our Loves Rubberstamps challenge we are to look around on the Kirkland's Website and choose any product to use for inspiration and create a project. I love inspirational challenges because they are super fun! This is the product I chose to use:

It is the Vintage Rose Buffet lamp. I loved the vintage, shabby chic look PLUS I think the lampshade roses look a lot like my new vintage rose ribbon that I bought from Stampin Up! That is the trim I used on my card :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE this ribbon and need to buy TONS before it is gone! Super cute!

I took a quick peek at what this week's Saturated Canary Challenge since I was using one of their adorable images and this week it is to make a project based off a movie. My project was inspired by the movie Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymore. This is one of my FAVORITE movies! If you haven't seen this you need to it is super adorable. As you can see by the coupon...my girl only gives hugs...no kisses :)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope that you play along in our Kirkland's Inspiration Challenge this week. Please visit The Cutting Cafe Blog to see what the rest of my teamies created with this week's files!

Have a great day!
Laura

I will be entering this in the following challenges:

Saturated Canary -  Movie Inspiration Challenge - Never Been Kissed
Crafts and Me - #117 Vintage
Whimsical Designs - All About Love Challenge
Creative Card Crew - Girly Challenge
7 Kids College Fund - #65 - Something Old & Something New (old = My Mind's Eye Papers, new = rose ribbon)
Top Tip Tuesday - Lavishly Luscious Layers - TIP - Wait for your glue to dry under your vintage rose ribbon BEFORE taking pictures because it looks like it has blue hues under it... :(
Bearly Mine - Tic Tac Toe - 4 in a row -  Lots of Layers, Pearls, Stamped Image, Lace (my lace doily)
Inky Chicks - Becky's Bingo Grid - Pearls, Lace (lace doily), flowers
Bunny Zoe's - Anything Goes
Card Mania Challenges - #12 Oh so Girly
Kaboodle Doodles - #155 Ribbon
The Ribbon Girl - Pink & Ivory
Sugar Creek Hollow - #45 Tic Tac Toe - Embossing, Ribbon, Distressing
Stampin For The Weekend - Something Girly

Bad Hair Day...

Good afternoon stampers!

Hope your Monday is going well so far :) I have my weight watchers meeting tonight and I haven't been the greatest at tracking this week or working out (1 time this whole week - LOL) so the thought of weighing in makes me nervous. I am still trying to work off my extra pounds I gained back after the holidays...grrr! Only a couple more to go before I am back to where I was at before Christmas - LOL! Darn holiday goodies anyway!

I am addicted to Pinterest and I LOVE the hilarious little posters that you come across on there. Here are a few that I found that fit my Mondays so perfectly since that is my weight watchers weigh in days...

And of course this one which is so true...LOL

LOL - Cracks me up! Usually I am happy with ANYTHING even staying the same as long as I don't gain anything back! Sometimes that is a feat in and of itself - LOL!

Ok...now onto the absolute BEST part of Monday! Olivia's Inspirational project! It is soooo adorable as always :)

This little cutie just cracks me up! This is Angelina by Mo Manning. Olivia did a beautiful job coloring her up! I love the button accents and this fun layout! Such a cute and fun card that you could use for so many occasions!

This image reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and our class went to the science center for a field trip. I had super long hair, down to my waist and they had this static electricity ball. They needed a volunteer to stick their hands on it and the class chose me because my hair was the longest. Well it worked and there is nothing funnier than seeing about 24" long hair standing literally straight up all over like a huge porcupine head. LOL!

You still have a few hours left to play in our Cute as a Button Challenge this week where there is an AWESOME prize from The Paper Shelter up for grans as well as a gift certificate to our store! You will want to play along if you can...just have some buttons on your project like Olivia did!

Also be sure to check out the Sensational Sundays Post and leave your comment to make it in this week's blog candy give-away!  I got it up really late so I apologize for that!
Have a great day all!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

Sensational Sunday Inspirations + Blog Candy

Hi Stampers!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Sorry this is late, my Grandma got out of the hospital today so I had to go pick her up and get her home and settled, and help her with some things around the house. When I got home I had to take a nap to be able to work overnight tonight. Fun Fun!

Here is our random winner of last week's BLOG CANDY GIVE-AWAY! According to the random.org is...

Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2013-01-21 06:18:26 UTC

Comment #11 - terriavidreader - Terri's Tries @ Making Cards whose comment was - I love purses like this!!

Congratulations Terri! Please send me an email at lovesrubberstamps@yahoo.com and I will send you your code for a $10.00 gift voucher to the Loves Rubberstamps store!

Remember... EVERY SUNDAY... you will have the chance to win a gift voucher to the Loves Rubberstamps Store.... just for leaving a comment on the post! Winner will be chose with random.org and will be announced on the following Sunday's post!

To try and win a $5.00 Gift Voucher - Just leave a Comment on this Post - that's it - nothing else!!

To try and win a $10.00 Gift Voucher - (we will check these)
                                       1. Be a FOLLOWER of this Blog
                                       2. Be a FOLLOWER of The Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog
                                       3. Be our fan on Facebook
                                       4. Add our Blog Candy Badge to your blog
                                       5. Leave a Comment on this post to show love to the DT

Now on to today's blast of inspiration from our talented Design Team! Here we go....

Shanna Shands

You Shine stamp and Mini Tabs Foursome Die by My Favorite Things, the papers are from My Mind's Eye, Tim Holtz Walnut Stain distress ink

This card is so pretty! Shanna always colors so beautifully! Those bulbs look are so bright and festive! I love the simple layout and the colors that she chose! Such a fun card!

Lydia Walker

My Favorite Things die-namics 'Faux crochet border'

-Paper Smooches 'Flap Happy' and 'We Connect'

-MME stamps 'Follow Your Heart'- Be Happy and Be Amazing and 'Lost and Found' Rosy- Everything

Lydia does the most GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS scrapbook pages! I love the vintage feel, the soft pretty colors and all the accents that she chose! With such a beautiful little girl as your subject how can this be anything but absolutely adorable? Stunning job!

Athina

Magnolia TILDA WITH RIBBON HEART SCARF

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads

Spellbinders Labels

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD

Athina did a beautiful job coloring this adorable image! This is a stunning card with the unique fold. I haven't tried this style yet, but Athina makes me want to - LOL! The colors she chose are just gorgeous and I love the pretty ribbons. I also love how she created the tag that slides in the back layer. Gorgeous design!

Marcy Dangcil

Magnolia Stamps - Tilda with Dove

memento ink-black tuxedo

best glue ever

Tim Holtz distress ink-Gathered twigs and alcohol inks

Tattered Angels-Chip Tile, Glimmer mist, glimmer glam and glimmer glaze

Candi-Coffee Bean

This is GORGEOUS!! Marcy created this beautiful Mixed Media style tag! The textures, colors and all those gorgeous accents are just awesome! I haven't delved into mixed media yet, but it always fascinates me. It also intimidates me a little too because of all the different layers and textures and things you can do but it does look so fun! I do plan on getting mixed media supplies and products in the store too in the very near future :)  

I hope you enjoyed today's blast of inspiration! I apologize again for the late posting! I also apologize that I couldn't do the links. Blogger does not like the internet explorer browser on this computer and keeps replacing my words with the URL link instead of having it behind the scenes! I wish blogger would get their issues fixed one of these days :)  

Have a wonderful day and be sure to check back early this afternoon for our inspirational Monday project from Olivia! Her projects are always adorable too so you don't wanna miss it :)  

Happy Stampin! Laura!
Laura

An Elegant Thank You

Hi Stampers!

Hope your weekend is going great so far! I am hoping to get some crafting done today and get ahead on my design team projects for the first time ever - LOL! Usually I am making things a few days before they are do because I don't get very much time to make things which is a bummer! So I am hoping I don't have one of those days where everything I make is a disaster - LOL!

Today is Saturday which means that we have a Saturday Stunner project for you today from Jacqueline!

Isn't this gorgeous? Jacqueline used the Lace Background Stamp and also the Lace Medallions from JustRite Papercrafts to create this masterpiece. The colors and the layers are just beautiful! I love that gorgeous bow and beads that Jacqueline added also! This is such a classy and elegant way to send a thank you to someone special!

If you haven't done so yet be sure to leave your comment on this week's Sensational Sunday's Post so you can be in the drawing for this week's blog candy giveaway! We will be drawing for  the winner tomorrow!

Also... we have the new CHA release Saturated Canary Stamps in the store available for PREORDER until Jan 25th! You can save 15% off and receive a FREE GIFT in your order! Just use coupon code SATURATEDCANARY when you order!

Happy Stampin everyone!
Laura

Best Friends

Hi Stampers!

Happy Holly-Day Friday! I have spent the day getting orders shipped, catching up on some emails, and after I finish this post I have a fun night planned of listing new goodies in the store ... some things I have in for quite awhile so I hope to get lots in and get caught up on that too :)

Holly has an extra adorable card for you today...

EEEK! This is too cute!! Holly used a new release La La Land image called Best Friend Luka. That gorgeous heart ribbon banner and the heart border along the bottom are two new dies from La La Land too! We do have all of the new stuff ordered and I am hoping it will arrive around the beginning of February. I love how Holly used her coffee bean candi dot embellishments on each end of the heart ribbon banner. That is super super cute! Holly did such a gorgeous job coloring her image after stamping it in memento tuxedo black ink. I love how she did the "out of the box" technique with her image also - really makes it pop! Those beautiful papers are from the Simple Stories take a Hike paper pack. Holly uses The Best Glue Ever to hold everything in place and if you haven't tried this glue yet...you need to because it is awesome!

I love this card! This would make a great card for a boys!

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have a chance to get crafty this weekend...be sure to play along in our challenge this week! The theme is to Use a Button on your project and we are being sponsored by The Paper Shelter!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

Snowy Greetings

Hi Stampers!

This will be a TWO-POST day because I wasn't able to get yesterday's post up. My Grandma went into the hospital because she has a nasty infection and they needed to give her IV antibiotics. So I was there and then came home and fell asleep by accident before I got my post on. I didn't think Holly would appreciate me texting her when I woke up about 3am from the couch to go to bed - LOL!

Here is Ceal's adorable card that she created using the Flourishes Snow Day stamp set.

I think that this is such a pretty color scheme and I love the embossing that Ceal did on her fishtail strips. The twine and snowflakes from Martha Stewart punches add the perfect accents!

I will be back in just a few minutes with Holly's Inspirational card :)

Have a great night - Laura

Valentine Advent Calendar

Hi Stampers!

Today is my Design Team day for The Cutting Cafe and I have a pretty neat project to share with you :) I apologize that this is later than usual - I was having a heck of a time trying to photograph this to make it look halfway decent. Some colors are just hard for my el cheapo camera to capture and it was too tall for my "homemade" light box. I think I managed to get a few that I could live with anyway :)

This week we were able to choose from The Hersheys Kiss Treat Box, The Hersheys Kiss Shaped Card, or the Heart Bag.

Well...Valentine's Day is also my wedding anniversary and my husband is a chocolate fiend so I decided to try a fun project I found on Qbee's Blog. It is a Valentine's Day Advent Calendar! That way my husband can have a "kiss" from me, in his favorite flavor...chocolate, everyday until Valentine's Day. Plus it serves as a reminder so he doesn't forget what day our Wedding Anniversary is :)

Here is the calendar. I decided to use the Hersheys Kiss Treat Box and just used the top shape to make my calendar topper. I sandwiched a real Hershey's Kiss flag from one that I had to eat for the sake of my project :)

Here is a close up of my calendar topper...

That cute little piggy and sentiment are from the C.C. Designs Animal Crackers stamp set called ... Hogs & Kisses. The glitter paper really is not that coral looking, it is more of a medium pink shade but that was how the color showed up on my camera no matter what lighting I tried! I colored my piggy with spectrum noir alcohol ink markers and used liquid applique and dazzling diamonds on his wings, they are very sparkly in real life even though you can't see it here.

Each one of the little numbered doors fold down to reveal a hidden kiss inside. The number tags are actually from The Cutting Cafe's - December Daily Numbers Printable Stamps. I cut each tag out, distressed the edges with my fingernail, sponged the edges with pretty in pink, added a pink bling gem and then popped them on dimensionals so you can use them to open the doors. Here is what the little doors look like open...

I had to dress up my little kisses with some of Regina's adorable Hershey Kiss Valentine Bottoms so in addition to my kiss, my hubby could read how adorable he is in a new way everyday :) Regina has a LOT of different holidays and occasions for the Hershey Kiss Bottoms, so you can dress up your kisses no matter what time of year it is or what your celebrating :)

Here is a peek at just a few of the ones I did...

These are so quick & easy to use, just print them out, and then punch then with a 3/4" circle punch. Then pop them on the bottom with a glue dot or double sided adhesive tape. I love them!

Here is a peek at the way I did my sides on this:

This is actually a border strip from the Love Story 6x6 Paper pack from Echo Park. I just cut it and it was the perfect width. The paper design on my doors are from this same pack as well.

Well I better get this posted! Here is the link to the tutorial that I used to make this from Brenda Quintana at Qbee's Quest. She is so talented :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to check out The Cutting Cafe Blog and see what my fellow Design Team Members created!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

I will be entering this in the following challenges:

All That Scraps Challenge - Anything Goes!

Secret Recipe...

Good Afternoon Stampers!

Just a super quick post from me before I hit the sack for a few hours before I have to go back to work! Today is a brand new Loves Rubberstamps Challenge so I wanted to share my inspiration project that I created :)

This week our theme is Cute as a Button and all you have to do is have a button on your project - either a real one or make your own ... easy peasy! We also have a guest sponsor of The Paper Shelter who is providing our winner with a $20.00 gift certificate to their store! This is a super awesome prize! So just for playing along with us this week you could be a lucky winner of up to a $40.00 prize package!

Here is what I created using the Chef Trattoria Digi from The Paper Shelter.

I have mentioned a few times that one of my FAVORITE things to do is make scrapbook recipe pages and when I saw this adorable Chef, I knew he would be perfect on one :) This is a 6"x6" page and it features a pocket in the middle so I could slip the ingredients list in one section and the cooking directions in another. The Designer papers I used are from the Authentique Enchanted Paper Pack and my "Secret Recipe" stamp is from the Cookbookin Tasty Phrases Stamp Set.

Here is a peek at the recipe cards pulled out...

I got this recipe for Jessica Alba's Turkey Meatballs from the Martha Stewart website.

Here is the Recipe...

Ingredients

2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth

Directions
1.In a large bowl, mix turkey, panko, carrots, zucchini, onion, eggs, Italian seasoning, and salt until well combined; form into 1-inch balls.

2.Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning, until browned, about 7 minutes.

3.Add 1/2 cup chicken broth; cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 7 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup broth and increase heat to medium; cook, uncovered, until liquid is absorbed. Serve.

You can see the original recipe on Martha Stewart's Website - Here.

I hope you get a chance to play along this week with us! We would LOVE to see your creative use of buttons :) Now I am off to hit the hay... 4 hours of sleep is going to go fast :(

Happy Stampin!
Laura

I will be entering this in the following challenges: