Gina, we love you...

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you today, that my friend, Gina McReynolds, passed away yesterday. She was only 33 years old and fought a hard battle against breast cancer. Her husband Will and 3 children were blessed by her life, an amazing wife and mother. I am not going to lie, this has been so difficult for me to deal with. My heart hurts so much. But I have learned so much from her. She epitomized a woman of strength as she did her best to conquer this cancer. Through out her battle she was a source of light and strength to everyone around her. Gina, we love you...

DeNami Design Sneak peeks

Hello friends! This is my second post for the day. If you are looking for my CAS-ual Fridays post, please scroll down. If you are new to my blog, welcome! Today is my day to showcase some of the new DeNami Design products. It was so fun to work with these stamps!

My first card I have to share with you I created using Ornamental Centerpieces. This set is a trio of stamps. I created a focal border. The sentiment is Classic Season's Greetings.

My second card uses another stamp from Ornamental Centerpieces. I repeatedly stamped the image to create a patterned paper effect. I wanted to keep in red and white. I stamped the same sentiment in versamark and heated embossed it in white.

I used the third image from Ornamental Centerpieces to create a non holiday card. This set is so versatile that you can create all types of cards. Here I used Thinking of You for the sentiment and colored in the image using bright colors. I finished off the card with some twine.

The last card I have to share with you I created using the new Holly Lantern. Again, I used Classic Season's Greetings for the sentiment. I finished if off with some Emerald grosgrain ribbon.

So, now here is the fun part. Don't forget to stop by Deanna's and Wendy's blogs and check out their fabulous creations. There is a fabulous giveaway and there are several ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on my blog.

2. Visit and leave a comment on Deanna's and Wendy's blogs.

3. Visit and leave comment on the DeNami Design blog.

Thanks for taking a peek and have a fabulous day!

CAS-ual Fridays, Pretty in Pink

Hello blog friends! Today I have a card to share for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge: create a CAS card or project using pink.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Ribbon Carousel.  This week's winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to the Ribbon Carousel.

This challenge sounds pretty easy, right? Well, for some strange reason, I struggled with this one. Despite pink being one of my favorite colors, the card I have to share with you was my third attempt *gasp*. I created this card to send to my hubby's cousin who just graduated high school. Since this card will be going in the mail, I opted to make it a one layer card. The butterfly and sentiment are from PTI. I colored it with my copics.

Don't forget you still have until noon on Thursday to link up!

My big announcement

So, I have some big, exciting news to share with you today. I was asked by Paulina to become of a member of the DeNami Design Team!!!!! Yes, that's right! I am still in shock and I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazingly talented group of ladies. Thank you Nami and Paulina!!

Head on over to the DeNami blog to meet the rest of the team. This week there will be lots of sneak peeks at some of the new products and lots of giveaways. So make sure that you visit the DeNami blog every day as well the featured Design Team ladies for your chance to win.

I thought I would repost the card I made for CAS-ual Fridays Sweet spot challenge where DeNami generously gave all the Girl Fridays product to play with.

PTI June blog hop

Happy Monday everyone! Can I really say that? Well, yes, I can. If you stay tuned to the blog, I have an announcement to make for my second post today.

It's that time of the month for Papertrey Ink, the monthly blog hop. I always find so much inspiration along the hop. I love to see what others have come up with  using the same inspiration photo.

I made my card using a white card base. I wanted my card to have a light and airy feel. I stamped Pretty Peonies in Soft Stone for the background.  I used one of the frames and the sentiment from the set as well. Although the green appears more like New Leaf, since I do not have that color, I opted to stamp the sentiment in Simply Chartruese. Lastly, I added the ruffled ribbon in Lemon Tart saddle stitch. Since I waited until the day before the hop to make my card and Tropical Storm Debby was hindering my ability to photograph my card outside, this was the best that I can do.

I also thought I would share a pic of my assisstant, daughter who was dancing around on the porch making sure that my card did not blow away with the wind and rain. We had just come back from a hairstyle birthday party. Although some of her hair came out of her braid, if you look closely, you will notice the synthetic blue hair weaved throughout. She also has new purple, sparkly nails. Thanks for pausing long enough in your dancing, Leah, to let me snap this photo.

CAS-ual Fridays, clear as day

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge: clear as day. Create a clean and simple project using vellum or acetate, something clear. This week our fabulous sponsor is Girl Friday, Karolyn Loncon!!! That's right. She has designed 6 fabulous stamp sets for Paper Smooches and is giving them all away to this week's winner!

I immediately knew that I wanted to create a little window card using acetate. Keeping it CAS, I only wanted part of my die cut image to show through.

Here you can see how my die cut stamped image is beneath the acetate on the front panel.

When you life up the card front, the remaining portion of the image is revealed. If you look at the upper portion of the photo, you can see how I attached a full sheet of acetate, trimmed down to cover the entire inside of the card. I adhered it using small strips of score tape.

I do not think there are any crafters out there, that enjoy making these types of cards. I created this card when I had learned some difficult news for my friend, Gina. She has been so tough throughout this process. With the recent metastisis, my heart aches for what may come of this.  God's timing is perfect and beyond comprehension.

I created this card now, because I know that I will not be able to do it later, whenever that time may be. I chose to stamp a bright red flower since she and her husband graduated from Florida State University. Unfortunately, I do not have Garnet ink. My heart and prayers are with everyone who has been blessed by this couple and their family.

You have until noon on Thursday to link up.

another good-bye

Hope you have been enjoying your weekend. I have a card to share today that I created for another coworker who is leaving. One of the gals organized a party for her and called it "A black and white affair." So I created a card to go along with the theme. Cindy, I will miss you. Many blessings on your future endeavors!

CAS-ual Fridays, sweet spot

Happy Wednesday! It's that time of the week for me. Today is my day to showcase my CAS card for the CAS-ual Fridays Facebook Inspiration Team. I hope you have been able to stop by the CAS-ual Fridays blog and check out what the fabulous Girl Fridays have created for your inspiration. This week's challenge is to create a CAS project using polka dots.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is DeNami stamps.

I created my card using the bitty dot image from PTI's Grunge Me. I used the Notebook die and stamped the Library card image. The sentiment and image are from Denami stamps. I stamped the adorable elephant on PTIs Pretty Pastels and cut him out. I finished off the card with Buttercream twine from The Twinery.

Don't forget that you have until noon Thursday to play and link up to the CAS-ual Fridays blog. Happy crafting!

CAS-ual Fridays, Put a bling on it!

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is also our guest designer challenge. Create a clean and simple project with a bit of bling. You can use glitter, rhinestones, anything with a bit of sparkle. Make sure you stop by the gallery for some fabulous inspiration. I hope you have been able to visit the CAS-ual Fridays Facebook Inspiration team. I am so happy to be a part of this amazing group!

This week's sponsor is Simon Says Stamp. The winner will not only win a $25 shopping spree, but they will also win the guest design spot for next month.

This card was created for a special little someone who will be turning 1 in a few weeks. You will be seeing more of these colors and of course, more of these stars on the blog. I used PTIs Star Prints and Background Basic: Music sheet. Thanks for looking!

Retro sketches #14

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Work, for me, was super busy this last month, but this weekend I found the time to play with  my PTI goodies and created today's card for Retro sketches.

This is my first time officially playing along. I used PTI's Bacground Basics: Diamonds for my strip, Pretty Peonies for the image and Botanical Silhouettes for the sentiment.

Unfortunately there is a real reason for creating this card. My friend, Gina, who has been fighting breast cancer has had some recent difficult news. She has gone through 2 rounds of chemo, and was on her second clinical trial, when she suffered complications that admitted her to the ICU. The cancer has now spread to her brain. This whole thing is hard for me to wrap my head around at times. My throat hurts, my stomach hurts and I have cried a lot. If you have read this far, please, please say a prayer for her and her family. Pray for God's utmost comfort. Thank you...

And more splatter...

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I said I would try my hand at splattering with acrylic paint and a brush. Since I had Friday off from work and was at home with my daughter, we tried out this technique together. We had a blast!!! I showed her how to hold the brush and tap it and she did a fabulous job! We used the same red paint for our splatter and I thought it was a perfect opportunity for her to make a Father's Day card. Since her favorite colors are pink and purple, what else can you expect, right? She cranked the Cuttlebug and I stitched down her hearts. She placed her star, which she die cut also and stamped her sentiment.

Here is Leah's card

I created my splatter card to play along again with Moxie Fab's  splatter challenge. The color scheme also plays along with this week's fabulous Play Date Cafe Challenge. It's been a while since I have particiapted in this challenge, too. I know that my Rose is a little more red, but I really like how it turned out.

My latest PTI goodies arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I loved greeting the UPS carrier at my doorstep in the rain. My eagerness to receive my package brightened his day. Love that! I was finally able to order the heart border die. ***swoon*** I just love adding the stitching detail to it. I was also able to order Soft Stone ink. Can I just say I am in love?! It is so subtle and pretty and happens to be a part of this challenge. I also dusted off my Creative Memories hexagon punch. They seem to be all the rage now. It's too bad I only have 2 sizes.

I had so much fun creating this card alongside my daughter. She is 4 1/2 years old, as she often tells people. I can't believe she will be turning 5 at the end of August. sigh. Thanks for looking!