The Year of the Rabbit!

My daughter needed a Chinese New Year card for a friend so I combined a Kimono Kid with Fourth of July Fireworks to welcome the Year of the Rabbit.  Rabbits are amiable, neat and considered to be the most fortunate of all the animals. It is good to be a bunny!  I was born in the Year of the Ox  - determined, traditional, easy going and follows a routine.  That must be why I liked following Stamping411's sketch so much!  Think I will walk on the wild side and post it on The Paper Players Anything Goes Challenge as well!

Bow-dacious! PPA78

Pals Paper Arts challenge this week is to keep it CAS and tie it up with a bow. Black Satin ribbon, Black Taffeta ribbon and Crumb Cake seam binding work nicely together on this Valentine.  A sweet glimmer heart in a windowpane adds an exclamation point to the sentiment! So go ahead, be bow-dacious and send out that special valentine!

(This also works for SUO's challenge #11 to make a Valentine)

Clearly for You!

I decided it was time to ink up my new stamp set from Leadership - Clearly for You. Some Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Old Olive and I was good to go.  And since this layout was sketched by my pal Ann Schach for The Paper Players I had to smudge things up a bit.  Yes Ann this is clearly for you!

That Lovin' Feeling.......PPA 77.....

Filled With Love is an appropriate stamp set to use because I love Margaret's PPA sketch this week!  I am enamored with that red glimmer paper.  I adore the look of Baja Breeze with Chocolate Chip and Real Red.  I happily pop layers up with dimensionals and pop shapes out with punches. I swoon over the perfect scalloped square from the Big Shot! Oh and I get giddy when I snip with the corner rounder.  But about the spritzy tool that sprayed red ink on my wonderful clean sheet of Whisper White...........think I'm losin' that lovin' feeling............think I have CAS issues.......



Leadership Style 2011

I returned from Stampin' Up!'s Leadership conference to find that four of my blogging friends had sent me the Stylish Blogger Award!  I am truly honored because these are very talented ladies - Lesley Croghan, Tara Bilbao, Martha Stewart and Colleen Dietrich.  Visit their blogs and I know you will agree!  Part of the award involves telling 8 things about yourself so I decided to share 8 things about my Leadership experience.


1.  The big ice/snow storm on the east coast delayed my flights 24 hours!  When I returned I drove the last hour home in a terrible snowstorm.  I am rethinking my love of snow.

Swap from Angie Dimenna


2.  The Opryland Hotel in Nashville is amazing! 

3.  I met some fabulous, talented, savvy ladies! 

Liz Hughes, Dawn Tidd, Anne Beale, Linda Callahan, Mary Fish and Martha Stewart



4.  SU! is a unique corporation.  The executives are very approachable, warm and genuine.

5. We were given a beautiful bag to hold our many gifts and prizes!  I switched seats in one session with someone who discovered a ribbon tied under her chair which meant she won an adorable apron made from SU! fabric - sigh.  But I made out OK later when I won a Sew Suite collection of goodies for wearing a Perfect Plum button! 

Swap from Maggie Patterson

 6.  Love was in the air as many swaps were Valentines!

Swap from Amy Dobbs


7.  I am terrible at creating the vintage look but I do love what others create in this style!

Swap from Patti McDermott

8.  I enjoy crossword puzzles and word games and won a stamp set of my choice for making the most words out of the word Leadership!

Swap from Allison Okamitsu

So thanks Colleen, Tara, Martha and Lesley for thinking of me!  And thanks SU! for a wonderful experience!

Swap from Jacque Craig

It's the Little Things.........PPA76...

There's a beautiful Lady in Red hanging out over at Pals Paper Arts this week - a wonderful Valentine inspiration!  I love the windswept red bits in the picture!  They inspired me to use lots of bits in this card.  There is a bit from You're A Gem, Button Button, Sew Suite, Inviting, Deck the Halls DSP and a Bitty Button!  Isn't it great when all the bits and pieces just fall together perfectly?

You're Never Too Old........PPA76.......

My refrigerator door has been an "art" gallery as long as I can remember - and I bet yours is too! This card (using Button Button and a sentiment from Curly Cute) was designed for Pals Paper Arts color challenge and will soon be part of a refrigerator display.  My mother winters in Florida so some of my cards will head south the next few months.  Even though my mother loves her tropical vacation she still enjoys mail from home.  And even though I am long past childhood, I still enjoy the fact that my mother hangs my work on her refrigerator!

Just For You - Blog Candy Winner!

The sentiment from Afterthoughts and the sketch from Stamping 411 worked perfectly together to say thanks to all of you who left comments on my year in review!  Carla's sweet comment said, "I can't make keys either."  Now that's a pal for ya!  And I laughed when some of you politely hinted that the key card wasn't exactly your favorite either!  LJ made me feel better when she noted that she too missed her classroom in the fall.  But the overall message from everyone was positive and encouraging - it is wonderful how we cheer each other on with our artistic endeavors!  My husband picked a number and the blog candy winner is Stacy H. who confessed to loving DSP as I do!  Stacy send your address to me at jcallahan1@nycap.rr.com and I will send out your stamp set along with this card - Just for You!