these are the things that I love|MSB.

On the 29th of each month, I have a post on the My Stamp Box blog. Today I'm sharing a layout using the Pixel Perfect stamp set. 

I used items from my April Studio Calico kits + the sentiment from the Pixel Perfect stamp set down on the right corner. I stamped with Versafine ink in onyx black. The gold ink is EK Success. I added a project life card from the SC Print Shop collection and a puffy geotag sticker from Skipping5. The candy dots are by Pebbles, the cork stickers are Freckled Fawn, and the gold enamel dots are twine + ink.

you're invited|MSB.

Hey Hey! 

Today I have a card to share for the My Stamp Box design team. This card features the Lovely Houses stamp set + the Small Greetings stamp set for the sentiment.

 

 I colored the house with gelatos and cut it apart from the flowers and sidewalk that were accenting it. The sentiment was stamped and punched with my ticket shaped punch and then I colored it was gelatos as well. The patterned papers are from the Studio Calico Print Shop collection, which is one of my top five paper collections of ALL time.

wild.

These are our two youngest nephews...this was taken a couple of weekends ago through the truck window as they were riding around their grandparent's yard. They loved riding in the back of the truck - even though it was pretty cold outside!

My page is based on a sketch I found at Paper Bakery.

Almost everything on my page is from my April Studio Calico kits + I added wood veneers from Creative Embellishments.

the time Dave Ramsey said hi to me.

My friend Kysha had an extra ticket to see Dave Ramsey last night. He and his daughter are on their Legacy Journey tour and were at a church in Indianapolis. He and his daughter were touring, promoting their new book Smart Money Smart Kids. 

Kysha's brother had the tickets and we were running a little late (traffic) so we were waiting outside the entrance for her brother to bring us our tickets. Suddenly a side door opened and Dave came out with what appeared to be a bodyguard and a director of sorts. They all walked past and Dave said hi to us!

Since my only debt is my house, his knowledge and principles have never been super applicable to me and their new book is definitely  not appropriate for me, but I enjoy listening to him. He's a funny guy and he has tons of good information. His five principles for winning with money are the foundation:

1. Get on a budget.
2. Get out of debt. Your most powerful wealth building tool is your income.
3. Build quality relationships.
4. Save and invest. You should have 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund.
5. Build wealth and give. 

It ended up being a late night - we didn't get home until 11:30. But I think it was worth it and I immediately shared what I learned with TJ, who has $100K student loan debt. Yowza

Best Moments[LCOM].

I was given this awesome Jillibean Soup 12x12 placemat to work with by Isabelle at LCOM. I considered cutting it down but ultimately decided to keep it the large size and try to include photos of everyone on vacation. There were ten of us total on spring break but all of the little squares provide the perfect solution for including small photos of lots of people. (Yes, I'm still finishing up photos from our cruise in January and now we've just returned from a week in Florida. More beach photos!)

I used the So Noted patterned papers and stickers by Carta Bella. I also used this collection on THIS page. I didn't want to have every square embellished and overwhelming to the eye. I hope I chose a good balance of more simple squares and more elaborate squares. I was also given Bo Bunny brads to use as accents. I typically am not a brad person, but these brads are very cute. I love the heart designs and there are two really cute 'live life' brads. I used three brads on this page.

A few weeks ago I posted a layout using a different Jillibean placemat. You can see it HERE. I actually did not use the placemat itself; I used it as a mask and misted over it.

Many of my other embellishments are from the April Studio Calico kits (badge, flair, 'today' stamp). The wood veneer, sequins, the other stamps, the die cut plastic heart, and cork hearts are also by Studio Calico. The yellow anchor washi is from Glitz Design. The puffy geotag stickers is Skipping5 and the enamel dots are Basic Grey.

Jump over to the LCOM blog today to see what the other media girls did!

sweet Ida Mae.

It's been a few days since I've had a chance to make a page so tonight I combined a few challenges and got to work. 

My page is based on THIS sketch at Stuck?! Sketches.

I was inspired by THIS challenge at Creative Embellishments. I used the polka dots in the image as inspiration + lace, enamel dots, mist, and rhinestones with the Dog Gone Cute wood veneer set.

I used THIS tic tac toe challenge with wood, a butterfly, and staples.

 THIS word challenge with the word 'sweet.'

This is Ida Mae, who was at the humane society. The volunteer coordinator contacted me last week to see if I could transport her to Indianapolis. One of the volunteers from the coon hound rescue in Cincinnati was able to meet me halfway to take her from the shelter to their rescue. So on Saturday we picked her up from the shelter and gave her a ride to Indianapolis, where we met the lady from the rescue group, and she was on her merry way (hopefully to a great new home!).

I used mostly items from my April Studio  Calico kits + Mister Huey in Doris. The letter stickers are from my stash - Sassafras and Twinkle Thickers. The pink washi is Leeza Gibbons and the green is Freckled Fawn. Thanks for looking!

30 before 30 progress.

I'm slowly making my way through my 30 before 30 list. I only have about three more months and I doubt I will get everything crossed off.

30 before 30

1 visit a pumpkin patch & bring home a pumpkin

2 go on a hot air balloon ride

3 take a vacation to the east coast

4 get another tattoo (Sept 2012) (April 2014)

5 pay off my car

6 run in another race (10/12/13 Highway Half & 5K)

7 take a wine tasting class (we did a wine tasting winter 2012 and winter 2013)

8 take Bentley on an overnight stay somewhere (Michigan 2012)

9 cut back on cussing (April 2014)

10 finish the Catcher in the Rye

11 do something scary (jumped my car 4/17/14 & aired up mom’s tires 4/29/14)

12 paint the entryway/hallway at TJ’s (halfway done 3/12)

13 visit a new zoo (John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, MI 5/13)

14 go to a ballet

15 see Chicago at Christmas time (did go 12/12 but didn’t see Michigan Ave)

16 stay in a cabin in Tennessee in the fall

17 donate blood again

18 set up for emergency preparedness

19 get my teeth bleached (just bought the stuff April 2014!)

20 buy something at a farmer’s market

21 go to the tulip festival in Michigan (May 3-5, 2013!)

22 learn to use my pressure cooker

23 learn how to use Photo Shop

24 ride my bicycle more

25 be published in a magazine again (Scrap ‘n Art online magazine July/August 2013!)

26 attend church regularly (regularly as of Oct 2013!)

27 be a nicer person

28 fix the patio doors at TJ's (halfway done)

29 buy a house (NOV 2013!!)

30 continue to foster/rescue work for Love of Labs

Scrap Much?! design team announcement...

I'm SO excited to announce I was asked to join the first ever design team at Scrap Much?! View the announcement HERE.

gary [LCOM sketch 68].

Today we're revealing sketch #68 at Let's Capture our Memories!

You can view sketch 68 on the LCOM blog today along with the designs the other media team girls made. Here was the sketch:

Here's what I made:

I was given the Echo Park patterned papers, which I found very hard to work with. I like the bold colors with the white and think the contrast is great but the patterns were what threw me off. I was also given the chipboard hexagon shapes (which I painted and covered with washi tape) and the Jillibean Soup wooden tag (which I inked with gold and embellished with mini veneer hears by Studio Calico). I used some labels and circle tags from Elle's Studio and Chic Tags. The enamel dots are Teresa Collins. 

Make sure to visit the LCOM blog today for some variations on this sketch - the other two media girls always have fabulous designs. Here's how you can play along for a chance to win 4x6 transparancies by Simple Stories...

1. Make a newly created project using the provided sketch and upload it to your blog or online gallery.
2. Then leave a link to your project using the Inlinkz widget HERE. Please use a direct link to your LCOM Sketch post and not just your blog address.
3. If you upload to online galleries, please also use tag/keyword LCOM68. LCOM products are NOT required to participate, and you can enter as many times as you want. If you don't have a particular shape indicated in the sketch, feel free to substitute.
4. There is no time limit - you can always play any week at any time, but the linking form will close on the last day of the month at 8:00pm (Atlantic Standard Time) to allow us to find a prize winner.

just a little hello [card]|MSB.

Just dropping by to deliver a little hello today. The weather is getting nicer here... for now. We'll see if it stays around. I've spent most of the day outdoors but I did come inside long enough for some crafty time.

I made a quick card to share today using the Oval Office stamp set from My Stamp Box.

if there is a Heaven [LCOM featuring Carta Bella].

It's Monday and I'm back from vacation. Yes, spring break has come and gone. Back to the daily grind. 

Today on the LCOM I have the inspiration station post. My main inspiration came from this quote I found on Pinterest:

via

I am also really liking this piece of art:

via

I was given the So Noted collection by Carta Bella - the textured patterned papers and the alphabet sticker page. These papers are pretty, soft colors with great neutral prints so this collection could really be versatile. You can view the entire collection HERE at the Carta Bella website.

Here's my page:

In addition to the Carta Bella patterned papers and sticker sheet, I misted (Heidi Swapp 'mustard' Color Shine) a Studio Calico mask to ground my two opposite corners of the page. I added some SC wood veneer and jewels. The skinny washi came in my April SC kits. The heart shaped enamel dots are by Prima. The anchor chipboard is by Creative Embellishments painted with some distress crackle paint.

Pop on over to the LCOM blog to see more details about the Carta Bella So Noted collection.

Creative Embellishments winner.

I just found out I was the March winner for the Creative Embellishments challenge. Here was the page I made:

simply the best [LCOM sketch #66].

Today on the LCOM blog, we're revealing sketch #66! Here it is: 

I was given the copper and black Pink Paislee Luxe collection + some Amy Tan buttons. I found a black and white patterned paper with circles on it and I immediately knew I wanted it for my base and that I wanted to play on the circles. Instead of using squares like in the sketch, I used my circle punch. I also slipped a larger photo in to replace two of the small squares. Here's what I came up with:

To give my page some more depth and add visual interest, I used pop dots behind some of the circles. I added the chipboard hearts and buttons to a few of the circles as well. I added some Prima Sugar Dots enamel heart shapes along the side to complement the black circles. My title is kept in the same place and I used Technique Tuesday set Simply You.

Be sure you stop by the LCOM blog today to see some more inspiration from the media gals and we hope you'll join our challenge! One winner from our April sketch challenges will win 4x6 transparences from Simple Stories. Here's how to play along:

1. Make a newly created project using the provided sketch and upload it to your blog or online gallery.
2. Then leave a link to your project using the Inlinkz widget HERE. Please use a direct link to your LCOM Sketch post and not just your blog address.
3. If you upload to online galleries, please also use tag/keyword LCOM66. LCOM products are NOT required to participate, and you can enter as many times as you want. If you don't have a particular shape indicated in the sketch, feel free to substitute.
4. There is no time limit - you can always play any week at any time, but the linking form will close on the last day of the month at 8:00pm (Atlantic Standard Time) to allow us to find a prize winner.

because hospitals don't close on Easter [LCOM].

On the LCOM blog today, I have the product shuffle feature. I'm featuring alphabet stickers and mixing them for your titles. If you're anything like me, you have TONS of alphabet stickers in your stash. 

Here's the page I came up with:

My photo is from 2012, I had picked up a shift at the hospital on Easter Sunday. I used this caption when I posted the photo. My letter stickers are from: EK Success, American Crafts (Remarks Sotheby's), Amy Tangerine Thickers (Goodness), and Basic Grey. I've added vellum star stickers and wood veneer from Studio Calico. The gold rub ons are Jenni Bowlin. The label stickers are Pink Paislee and Kelly Purkey. The enamel dots are My Mind's Eye. The stamp sets are both Technique Tuesday (Real Life and Joy). 

Stop by the LCOM blog- I shared a few more layouts featuring mixed alphabet fonts!

sending you sincere thanks|MSB.

Hello! Today I'm sharing a spring like card with some pretty colors and a flower. The sentiment is from MSB stamp set Lines of Life. The flower is from the stamp set Garden Sketches.

I colored the flower with some Gelatos in red and yellow. I grabbed some coordinating patterned papers for the base of the card. I cut my sentiment into a banner shape and colored the edges with an orange Gelato so the stark white didn't stand out so much. 

 Thanks for stopping by today!