Toy's Sketch Challenge

Good morning! I made this card to play along with a weekly sketch challenge that Toy is doing. Thanks, Toy, for a great sketch. I hadn't use this image yet from MFT's Eggstra Special and it was really about time. To color the image, I use a VersaMark pen and pastel chalks. I love the soft look they give and I think it really goes well with the Cosmo Cricket DP. I used my Cuttlebug for the flowers and added some itty bitty buttons.

I am going to go out in a little bit to take another walk. This day is starting out much like yesterday, I hope it continues to go that way and I wish the same for you. Some of you have mentioned snow so I will enjoy the gorgeous weather here for you:)

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura

Life is so freakin' wonderful!

Do you ever have one of those days that is so completely perfect you just want to hold on to it for all its worth...well I am smack dab in the middle of one of those days and thought it would be fun to share. I don't have any cards to share with you just yet maybe later...I plan on just letting this next few hours just take care of themselves, I have a habit of really trying to contol every single little thing and I miss other things because of that, but I will talk more about that in a few minutes.

Yesterday I was tagged by Michelle at Stamps, Paper, Scissors and Donkey Smiles. Stop by and check out her super fun blog. Thanks for the tag Michelle! This is the tag to tell 7 things about yourself. I have done this 2 times before and was pretty vanilla about it so I am going to try to me more chocolate, dark chocolate, thank you very much! Here we go....

1. When I was in 6th grade art class, we were given the assignment of drawing a dog from a picture of a pencil drawn dog. From my point of view, my classmates were DaVinci while I was decidedly not and was, in fact, painfully devoid of any artistic ability whatsoever. That really shaped who I thought I was and was not for the next 10 years or so. I decided I should stick with things that were more concrete, like business and anything that kept me far from drawings of dogs

2. I mention #1 because for ten years of my life I was a cake decorator in a shop that my mom owned and while I was a fantastic cake decorator, I still didn't consider myself to be an artist or artistic, for that matter.

3 Just a random other thing is that for about 18 months when I was in college I worked for the ad agency that coined the phrase "What happens in Vegas...stays in Vegas" I am not saying I am proud of that, just stating a fact.

4. I mentioned #2 because for the first time in my life, because of all the wonderful support of this fabulous stamping community, I feel like I am a creative artistic person! I mean I never thought anything I made would be considered for not one, but two different national paper magazines. And also that I had it in me to win a design contest. Getting involved in SCS and having my own blog has just opened a window to a world I never thought I would even come close to fitting into.

6. My all time favorite movies are, in not particular order....The Princess Bride, Heart & Souls, The Iron Giant, Better off Dead and more recently The Holiday. (Please don't judge:)

7. I have said this before, but it is worth repeating. I have a little coffee, chocolate and wine every single day! (No, I am not 400lbs and I am not an alcoholic:)

So now I have to tag other blogs. Well I still have the same circle of blogging friends and I am sure they don't want me to tag them yet again. I did however discover just yesterday a new blogger that I am smitten with, her name is Katie, My Paper Haven. She has a such an easy elegant style, I think you should go take a look! If you want to play and have your blog listed here, just leave a comment and I would be happy to oblige!

Ok, so onto the other stuff that is really making me completely happy today. First, a brand new Micheal's store opened today just 3.3 miles from my house and I was literally the second customer in the store (some guy came out of nowhere to be the 1st person to walk in) I was the first paying customer:) Go me! You now know where I will be on any given day. So the second thing is the weather today, it is 66 degrees out and the birds are singing and the bees are buzzing and the trees are blooming and my little girl wanted to go for a walk. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. Normally I wouldn't take my camera, but this morning before my walk I checked in on Julie's Blog, Paper Truffles and she said that she was geeking over this blog called Confessions of a Pioneer Women. Well I will tell you what, I have a new place to visit frequently, go check it out and tell me what you think! Once you visit that you will probably understand why I had to bring my camera! You probably didn't know I could be so chatty without a card to show!

We have these trees in Las Vegas called Flowering Plums, I thought for a long time they were Cherry Blossoms. The flowers bloom for a very short amount of time and are they gorgeous when they do! Here's a few pictures of some of them and of the gorgeous scenery I get to look at when I walk around the 2 mile loop that goes around my neighborhood. Just before I sat down to do this entry I took my daughter to Cold Stone Ice Cream, I had a cup of vanilla bean with caramel, chocolate, Oreo cookie, and pecans mixed in. I enjoyed every single bite and didn't feel guilty about it, not even for a second. Life is so freakin' fabulous!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura

Sweet Chick

Hi there! This is for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I love this sketch, it's a great way to use up scraps of paper. I am trying to get some Easter cards done, even though I really need birthday cards. So many cards to do, so little time:) The paper, ribbon and the frame are from Cosmo Cricket, the very fun box I got from QVC. Did any of you get it? The chick and the flower (from My Favorite Things, Eggsta Special) were both stamped with black classic ink and colored with colored pencils. I cut the flower and attached it to the outside of the frame, 'cause it wouldn't fit on the inside and there was no way I wasn't using the frame!

I am so happy it's Friday and the weather is gorgeous here! I am going for a walk later, but first I am going to Michael's to get MORE stuff, lol! I really need glue sticks and a new blade for my trimmer. I am going to try and be good, wish me luck!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

Elegant MFT cake

Hello! This is my submission for My Favorite Guest Designer Challenge, April. Ever since I got this stamp set I have wanted to do a card like this with the cake, I thought it would make a really elegant wedding card. This is pretty close to what I had in my head so I am thrilled. There is some stiff competition this month, but I had so much fun being the guest designer for March that I wanted to try and win again. I will keep you posted.

I used 2 shades of cream cardstock (I would love to tell you from where, but it's just paper out of my stash) and vellum card stock trimmed with a deckle edge Fiskar blade. I stamped the cake twice on cream cardstock with Versamark and embossed with white ep. I colored one in with Creamy Caramel ink and a blender pen and cut it out. I cut the other piece with an oval Nestability and stamped and embossed the base of the cake. I ran a panel of cream through my Cuttlebug with a textile embossing folder and added the vellum behind it. Finally, I added the ribbon, the flowers and pearls from Marcella by K and distressed the right edge a bit. Wish me luck!

I want to give a quick shout out to my BIL's girlfriend, Melissa...who has been stalking my blog! Hey girl, how's the weather in Illinois?

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

If friends were flowers...

I'd pick you. Here you go my friends, another sneak peek at the new MFT set Punch a Bunch. I thought a watercolor look would be pretty for this, so I stamped the flowers repeatedly with Versamark and colored them with pastels (rose red, regal rose). I added a some extra greenery with the brush side of a Versamarker and colored that also with pastels (always artichoke). I finished by cutting a few extra flowers and adding a dot of white to the center with a gel pen. The paper and ribbon is from Cosmo Cricket (the stash I got from QVC). Don't forget the big release party is tonight...check the MFT forum at SCS. You could be the next guest designer!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

Bloomin' Wonderful!

Well, thank ya'll so much for your comments on the Howdy card. How fun!!! Well here's a little peek at another new set from MFT called Punch a Bunch, designed to be used with your scalloped punches or Nestabilities. This is for the today's color challenge...wild wasabi, purely pomegranate and so saffron. I am still not feeling 100%, but I will survive:) After last week's color challenge nearly did me in, I was almost afraid to try this week's in my weakened state. It still took me a looooonnnnnggg time, but I am happy with the end result. This is going to a little girl who had some major surgery recently. I am sending it through Kelly (emmiestamps) who requested the RAK. For this card I stamped the flowers with classic ink and colored them with my SU! markers and then added some Crystal Effects for a little pop! The flowers were stamped on a separate sheet of cardstock and then trimmed as a bunch. I used my Crop a Dile for the embossed circles and my Nestabilities for the ovals. The faux stitching is done with a white gel pen.

Thanks so much for stamping by and for all your well wishes, you guys make me happy!

Laura!

Howdy

Wednesday is the the day that you can get the brand new stamp sets from My Favorite Things...yippy kiyay! Here's a little sneak peek for you. This set is so much fun, I combined it with one of the stamps from SU's True Friend. For the background, I stamped the the cactus onto watercolor paper and then used my watercolor pencils and a blender pen to create the sunset. Then used Ranger Ink Brushed Corduroy and a sponge dauber around the edge. The small flowers are cut from the decorative bandana paper and one was layered on cut outs from True Friend. The braided fiber is some that I have had in my stash for awhile.

I started coming down with the crud yesterday, my throat hurts and I can barely keep my head off the desk...hopefully I can still get some prime stamping time in:) Have a great day!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~