Canine Capers in New Colors

I love the new color Early Espresso! It took me a long time to fully appreciate Chocolate Chip and now I don't know how I could live without it. I see a lot of potential for the Early Espresso in my future.

This weekend's challenge in our group was to use 3 of the new core colors. I chose Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, and Cherry Cobbler. The colors were perfect for a dog card. So, I broke out my retired and beloved set Canine Capers.

I stamped everything using Early Espresso and "tied" it together with the new Espresso ribbon ;) Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Tropical Kind Of Mood

This weekend, our sketch challenge was FTL49. I decided to break in my new Tropical Party set and paired it with the Island Oasis DSP. We'll be going to Maui in September and my in-laws will be watching the house, kitties, and bunny. I think I'll leave this card for them with a gift card for dinner on us :) I colored in the palm tree stamp with Garden Green and Chocolate Chip. I also used my new very fine Flower Soft - doesn't it look like sand? I love it! I stamped the sentiment in Pumpkin Pie and punched it out.

I hope we get those thunderstorms they are calling for later today to help cool it down. It had to have reached 100 yesterday and the weatherman just said it was already in the 80s! I hope you have a cool, fun filled day!

Meet Fluffles!

Well, what an exciting and exhausting weekend this has been. It started Thursday night as we had Friday off. One of my husband's friends called. His daughter's friend decided to get rid of her pet bunny. Don tried to find it a home, but no one would take it :( Knowing we had pet bunnies for years, he asked us as a last resort. We couldn't say no and subject this poor bunny to a horrible end. After the call, I rushed out and had to re-buy all the bunny supplies (new cage, litter box, hay, etc.) I had it all set up when Don brought "Disco" to us (hate that name and will never mention it again!) The first thing I did was give *her* a bath. We were told it was a female. Well, while I was bathing our new little bunny, I saw male anatomy. I will take him to the vet for a check up and get a definitive answer, but I'm already saying "him". We will also get him neutered.

My husband named him Fluffles and it just works. Fluffles is fearless! We've never had a bunny that didn't mind hard wood or laminated kitchen floors. He walks on anything. We've also caught him going up the stairs. I was on the sofa and he jumped up on me! I'm telling you, this little guy does some amazing things. We've had 4 rabbits over the last 17 years and none has ever done these things. He's keeping me on my toes! Kimba, our male cat is so happy to have a friend and another bunny in the house. He grew up with bunnies, so he couldn't be happier. He just gets a little rough playing sometimes and I have to remind him to be gentle. He's so good with Fluffles! They've bonded instantly and it is so cute! I can't get good pictures of them snuggling because they move too quickly for my camera and it comes out a blur. He's definitely perfect for our family because he loves to lay on the AC vents! Anyone who knows us knows we love a cool house :) So, he fits right in!

I love bunnies and am a strong advocate for them being excellent pets. However, I'm also the first one to say that they are very high maintenance and very expensive. Rabbits should have at least 6 hours outside of their cage, they need timothy hay at all times, and fresh greens every day. They also require exotic veterinary care, which is much more expensive than regular vets. So, if you are thinking about getting a bunny, please do the research (House Rabbit Society) and know that they are not pets for children or someone that wants low maintenance.

Thanks for letting me share our new furry one! Have a great week and give your furry ones a headrub for me :)

Altered Magazine Holder

My first passion is to cover things in paper/alter items. I found some plain, white cardboard magazine holders at IKEA. I decided to try covering one in DSP. I pulled my open packs and decided to use some Razzleberry Lemonade paper. I traced the sides of the holder, cut the paper, and adhered with a glue stick. I then covered the front and back. I pulled out the Melon Mambo polka dotted ribbon and wrapped it around the whole holder. I then made a double bow and stuck that on. I wanted an area to write, just in case I make a lot more and want to categorize my magazines, so I added some hodgepodge hardware with a little sheet of Melon Mambo to write on. I like the way it looks and think it would be cute with the others on my bookshelf. If I get around to making the others, I'll post them together.

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Friendly Birthday

I used my Friends Never Fade set for this card. I love the images in this set - very pretty! I only used one for this card though. I used the Create with Connie and Mary sketch challenge 101 and the K Werner color challenge 26. I was a bit skeptical about the colors together, but I do like them together!

I found a scrap piece of retired DSP that happened to be Rose Red with light polka dots. I thought it was perfect for this. I don't like plain backgrounds, but don't want my background to overpower my main image either. So, I scallop edged it and committed with adhesive :) I used some brads from my Soft Subtles pack that I think are actually Apricol Appeal. But, they look like So Saffron to me, so I used them to go with the Saffron ribbon.

Thanks for looking and have a great week!

Happy Card

I've given up my duty as challenge picker in our SU! group and Sherri has kindly taken over the task. This week, she chose the Clean and Simple Fall To Layout sketch challenge (#94). I paired this with the Diva Coffee Break Designs color challenge (#180). I used my new Punched Posies set.

I opted for the clear set over the wood, but I now see why the wood is better for solid images. I had to sand down the large flower design to get a clean stamped image. It was very hard to do this on the clear block. It kept coming off. So, I had to hold the rubber image in my hands while sanding; not an easy task! But, for storage options, you can't beat the clear sets.

I love these colors together. They make me smile and think of happy times, being young and enjoying the summer. Oh to be a kid again, right? Anyway, thanks for looking and have a great day!

From The Heart

I love my new Watercolor Trio set. The flower images are very soft and romantic.

I used a sketch challenge, but I forgot to write down which one!

I paired the stamps with the Porcelain Prints DSP. I pulled the colors (Blue Bayou and Wild Wasabi) from the paper and used my new Wasabi marker and Blender Pen with Blue Bayou ink pad to color in the stamp image. I thought it needed just a little something extra, so I added the heart brads which goes with the saying! I love when it all comes together like that ;)

TFL and have a great day!