Sites of the week

Exciting News! I have been asked to be on the GLUE design team. I have admired their stuff for awhile now!! HERE is one project, a 3×3 album, that I have done in the past. I also have a 3-tiered cupcake stand that I have started to work on, but just can’t commit to using adhesive yet. My first official assignment was to alter a dress form to match my personality. Yikes! Which one would I choose? LOL! Just kidding!! I wanted something to reflect my taste…pretty, but casual. I love all the pretty trendy things {and all the bling that goes with them} that are out there, but I am a jeans and t-shirt gal through and through. So, I took a pair of old {a.k.a. my butt can’t fit in those anymore} jeans and traced and cut out the outline of the dress form. To adhere it, I used a thin layer of Mod Podge, as I did not want any to come through the fabric. From there, I create a skirt made of ribbon. I began with a satin piece and adhered organdy ribbon to the back with red line tape. The edges of the ribbon are cut into a “V” and a small acrylic flower that I topped with a Swarovski was attached with hot glue. For the base of the form, I gather Primas and adhered them with hot glue. The edge of the base is wrapped in May Arts ribbon and finished off with more bling bling {Swarovski crystals}. For the top, I added a drawer pull and added a necklace of glass beads. This was so much fun to make!! I’d love to make some more for some friends. I think I covered most of the details that may have been less than obvious. Let me know if you have any other questions about the project, and I will ETA them here.
Full view…

A couple of detail shots…

Now onto Ellie with Elmo…

As you may know, Tony’s grandparents are here visiting. We are all getting spoiled, especially Ellie. Shocking, isn’t it? Great Grandparents fly in from out of state and the lil’ one gets spoiled rotten. It’s quite cute to watch her with all her new goodies. Grandmama {yes, that’s spelled correctly} and Papa Jack gave her Tickle Me Elmo today. Here is a brief photo diary on how that went. Let me tell ya, she was a little less than impressed with all the giggling and gyrating that Elmo was doing!!!!! Then she warmed up to him…finally!

Opening the box {which makes sounds}

What the heck is that thing doing???? Notice Cooper is there for protection. Abby is obviously bored {yawning dog in the background}.

Seriously Elmo, what the heck are you doing?

No Elmo! You stay over there!!

Whoa Elmo!!!

Ok, we can be friends, but be quiet already!

Last, but not least {for sure!}. This is the look that Papa Jack got when he asked if he could see her new Elmo. I think that may translate into “Papa, you be crazy!” PRICELESS!

Before I get started on my post for today, I just want to remind you that I have some SU! sets for sale on the post below this one. Check ‘em out, you may just want one to follow you home.

There are one, two, THREE super cute sets being released on March 1 from Verve Visual. The set that I am featuring here today is called Anniversary Birds. Birds are definitely “hot” right now {yep, that sounds weird}, so I was so excited to see that Julee designed a set with birds. This card is for my parents that are celebrating their 30th anniversary next week. It is no surprise to me that their love has endured the test of time, and all the other day to day pressures of a marriage. They have always been wonderful relationship role models. Thanks Mom and Dad for teaching me what love is and what it means to be loved. I hope {and plan} that 25 years down the road that my daughter will be giving me a similar card and saying similar things about her {incredible} parents.

More samples from the upcoming release can be found on the Verve Blog.

Stamps: Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink (SU!), DP from Cloud 9 Designs
Ink: Dark Brown Chalk Ink (ColorBox); Markers (Copic)
Accessories: Ribbon, Heart Charm, Dimensional Glue Dots , Paper Piercer

**Sale at Verve Visual through Friday…15% off all stamps**

I am always on the lookout for fun sentiments. You can say the Coco Chanel {and Emmabella} nailed this one!! How cute and sassy is this!?!?! I’ve actually had both of these stamps for a little while now just waiting for some inky lovin’. Yesterday Ellie was kind enough to take a long nap between loads of wash and this is what I came up with. I think it’s a pretty good rebound from the sweet and simple side of me that you saw yesterday! You may not believe this…I JUST got that paper less than a week ago. OMG!! I am so proud of myself for not hoarding it for weeks, ahem, months on end. The DP is from My Mind’s Eye {love it love it love it}, the colored cardstock is SU! {Cool Caribbean and Basic Black} and the white cardstock is from PaperTrey. I must tell you that the PaperTrey white cardstock is AWESOME!! It makes the best card base and it is a dream to color on. Savvyshoppabella is colored with Copics. I really like the shadow/ground that I can create using the Copic markers and the Copic blender pen. I used to use the A Muse oval {which I still love}, but I am finding myself using this technique more and more. Maybe it’s because the Copics are already out in front of me. I dunno… Back to the card deets… I scalloped the edges with my small corner rounder punch and added a little bling with Swarovski crystals. This card will most likely see its way to a friend or be a RAK, but I also think that it would be a fun money holder for the shopper girl in the family…oh yea, that’s me. Hmmm…now that’s an idea {Tony, I’m kidding!!}.

Mom Update:
Thank you all again for your support! I spoke with my mom yesterday and she sounded GREAT!! Obviously there is a lot ahead of her still, but I am glad to hear that she is at home, up on her feet and in great spirits. Yay!! She is very appreciative of the cards that she has been receiving. Thank you!! Hugs-Jd

**If you have not already entered, please see the post below for some BLOG CANDY!!**

Today is Tony’s 31st birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I made him a birthday card that corresponds to this month’s Dirty Dozen Challenge:

Challenge Focus: Stamps Designed by Fellow Dirty Girls. -OR- alternate option - use any fellow Dirty Girl’s galllery creation as an inspiration to semi-CASE something of your own.

Required Element: Spring Color Combo - whatever feels like Spring to you!

Restricted Element: NO CuttleBug/Big Shot/Wizard or similar diecut/embossing machines.

Ok, so maybe I missed the mark with the black for “spring.” I couldn’t do all pretty colors for Tony’s card! When I think of spring, I think of all colors. Not just the Easter pastels, but flowers in bloom {bold red begonias here in TX}, the bright blue sky, new sprigs of grass emerging. I am typing out this “spring stuff” as I am sitting here in gray sweats and slippers…hmmm, not so spring! For the use of stamps designed by fellow dirty girls, I chose the Lined Paper Backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms {by Lisa Strahl}. Sidenote…I got to meet Lisa at CHA and she is just the sweetest {Waving HI to Lisa!}. Since I don’t have a whole bunch of DD designed stamps, I had to incorporate some of my SU! stuff {Typeset alpha and So Many Scallops}.

In addition to it being Tony’s big day and DD Challenge day, it is also CELEBRATE MFT {details HERE}. Here is the card that I made for this month…

So, have I ever mentioned that I absolutely ADORE American Crafts paper?!? LOL! I have about 10 sheets of this {ok, more than that} in my stock pile of paper that I love and never use because I must hoard it {empathy, anyone??}. The tan paper is the flip side of the polkas. I colored the girls with Copics and did a little paper piecing to make it all matchy-matchy. The bag on the left has a prima and Swarovski crystals on it and the bag on the right has tissue paper coming from the top {thanks for that idea Ana!}. This card is on it’s way to a new friend, even they are priceless!!

Mom Update:
I spoke with my mom in the morning and she sounded much better! This is good!! She is still in quite a bit of pain, but they are managing it with some strong meds. She will be in the hospital for at least the remainder of the week so that the docs can keep a close eye on her. Thank you all again for your thoughts, prayers and well wishes!!

I promised some news today and here it is… {drumroll, please}…
I have accepted a position on The Cat’s Pajamas Design Team! YAY!! My friend, Carole has also jumped on with TCP!! Double YAY! I am very excited about this and I can’t wait to see what Alma has in store for us! So to celebrate, I have made a card with one of the newest releases, Loving Mew. These images and sentiments just crack me up!! The “DP” was made using stamps from this set as well-love that I could do that!!

Coloring detail…

Alma asked us to send her a childhood pic for the DT page. This is the best on that I had on hand {LOL!!}. I can’t believe that I was ever this blonde {naturally!!}. To many that probably explains a whole lot!

Mom update:
My mom is back in the hospital. She developed a hematoma and was admitted very early Sunday morning. She has undergone another surgery to remove the hematoma. All is looking wel. Needless to say, it has been a bumpy ride so far in this journey. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. They are very appreciated! Many of you emailed me for my mom’s address to send a RAK. Thank you!! I know that she will love the cards!

Last, but certainly not least…Do you notice any small detail that is different on my site? Look up in your address bar and you will see that I now have a customized favicon!! How fun!! Susan’s sister, Sara {say that 3 times fast!} designed it for me. If you are interested in getting your own, they are only $3 and you can see more of Sara’s work HERE. She has done Susan’s site and Amy Westerman’s site, just to name a couple! Oh, BTW…you may want to come back here tomorrow {Tuesday} if you want a chance to win one of these lil’ favicons for yourself!!…along with some other fun goodies!