Tara's Bridal Shower!

We celebrated my niece Tara's bridal shower yesterday and this was the card that I made for her.

My sister sent me all of her inspiration photos and I did my best to incorporate her colors and flower theme as well as little personal touches like her love of cats and dogs.

LOVE is actually gold and not black as it appears. I decided on a first for me. I cut the cat and dog out of patterned paper instead of a colored cardstock or white cardstock that I colored, like I've done in the past. I really think they're cute this way.

On the inside I created a pocket to put her check in.

One of her wishes was to have a large ribbon hat so they asked guests to wrap with lots of bows. Since I was only doing a card/cash I created a fancy bow to attach to the envelope. The pink bow came from a yard sale the day before (score!) and then I added lots of curling ribbon in all of her fun colors.

Girl Scout Halloween Bookmarks from Art Impressions

Hello Ai fans!

Last night I helped some little girls earn their Craft and Tinker badge for Girl Scouts.

We made some Halloween bookmarks and they seemed to really enjoy themselves.

I created individual baggies with lots of stamped and die cut choices.

The girls ranged from 2nd - 5th grade with a few younger siblings and they all did an amazing job!

It was so fun to see their individual personalities come out in their choices.

I had so much fun doing this and I hope they need help again in the future.

Cat Sympathy Card

Sometimes we have to make difficult cards.

My friend lost her cat recently and it was very hard for them

to say goodbye.

I wanted them to know that I care about them and what they are

going through so I made them this card and sent her a memorial

windchime and bracelet.

Froggy Front and Back from Art Impressions

 Hello Ai fans!

I've got some really cute cards to share with you today!

I've used several of the newer Art Impressions sets and you can find links to everything at the bottom of my post.

I've always been a huge fan of the Front and Back stamps and was so excited when Art Impressions started making them again.

The oval cut outs are nice and large so I saved them for a future project which you'll see below.

Most of the patterned paper is from Art Impressions.

As I was cutting out the ovals I was just tossing them aside on my table.  When I looked at them I noticed that they looked a bit like a pumpkin.  I turned them into this Simon Says Stamp Stamptember Exclusive.  I really like how it turned out and I saved something from going in the recycling bin.

Both cards are similar but they have subtle differences like different front pages and the inside papers are arranged in a different order.

I also used different sentiments on them as well.

Goodbye until later today!

Be sure to check back at noon for our new challenge!
I'm the featured artist and I have several projects to share with you.

Halloween Journal Black Cat and Bat page + winner of Black Cat GHC raffle

Hello and happy Sunday!

Today I'm sharing another page from my Halloween journals as well as announcing the winner of the Black Cat GCH set!

Let's start off with my new pages.  I made three in all.  One with the darker web paper and two with the lighter paper.  Both are from 5605 – Halloween Journal Paper Pack.

I used the same sets on all of the pages.  The scalloped matte and base page were created from 5543 – Journal Template Die Set. The frames are both from 5591 – Journal Rectangle Frames Die Set.

I used the 5328 – Halloween Mini Dies for the bat and spider. The cat is from 5333 – Cats Mini Dies.
The bat that I colored is from 5460 – Halloween Slimline Set.

Now for the announcement you've all been waiting for!  The lucky random winner of the 5341 – Black Cat GCH Set is...

Congratulations, Jackie U!

I'll be in touch with you to get your address.

Copics used:

YG91, YG93, Y02, W4, W5, T2

Diamond dots used:

5001, 7005, 8236, 8305

Distress Stickles Frayed Burlap

Pet Sympathy cards with NEW Art Impressions Nested Heart Dies

 Hello Ai fans!

I recently had two friends lose a pet and I wanted them to know
that I was thinking of them.  I lost my precious Boomer a few weeks
before Christmas so I understand the hurt they're feeling right now.

I wanted to use the new 5721 – Nested Heart Dies
because I know how much they loved their pets.

I mounted the new hearts on the 5064 – Circle Double Stitched Dies.
Before mounting the hearts on the circles I cut out the dog image.  Then I cut

the dog using red paper and inserted him into the cut out space so he was flush

with the heart shaped paper.

The dogs are from 5337 – Dogs Mini Dies.
I cut all of the animals names out using 5562 – Journal Letter Die Set.

Since Joey's name was shorter, I was able to use a die from the 5543 – Journal Template Die Set
to put his name on.  The cats are from 5333 – Cats Mini Dies.



All of the patterned papers are from 5712 – Christmas Journal Paper Pack, 

which shows how versatile they are because these cards aren't Christmassy at all.

I hope that my friends will soon only remember the happy times spent with their pets.

My heart aches for them.

Boo! Do spiders scare you? by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing a card made with the new 5462 – Web Dies Set.

I HATE spiders SO MUCH!!
However,  I desperately love them and spider webs on my Halloween cards!

I used several other sets on my card as well.

5408 – ShadowBox Window Die

and
5072 – Block Letters Die Set.

I also used 
5328 – Halloween Mini Dies

and
5333 – Cats Mini Dies

I'm not sure my card will be everyone's cup of tea. 
I'm partial to holiday cards in non-traditional colors.
I'll be honest,  I've never made a pastel pink Halloween
card but I'm very happy with this one!

I cut the letters twice so that I could create a shadow behind the main letters.
Halloween is so much fun, especially with my job in an elementary school. 

I always need lots of fun cards!