Ridiculously Amazing! PPA298

So what do you do when your dog turns 14?  Buy him red balloons and let him frolic in the park with his sister of course! My daughter let him celebrate in style - ridiculously amazing!

My talented friend Ginger created a fun sketch for us this week at Pals Paper Arts - hope you join us!

Stamps:  Amazing Birthday
Paper:  Melon Mambo, It's My Party DSP, Whisper White
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry

Hello Baby....FMS224

The thing about babies is that they don't stay babies for long. Our "baby" is now very interested in where everyone lives.  She loves learning the names of towns and does pretty well remembering who lives where with one minor exception - our camp - which is on the Sacandaga Lake (pronounced Sack-en-dog-a).   As we drove to camp this weekend her mother asked Emma if she remembered where the camp was.  And Emma replied, "On Shutthedogup Lake!"  She does have a point.....there are five of them when we all get together.....

Emma and Uncle racing to the beach......the dogs are already down there.....barking....




I love the wide open sketch my talented friend Jen Timko created this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Soft subtles brushed across white cardstock created the shading on my sentiment which was die cut more than once to give it substance. A snippet of designer paper from a retired set tied everything together!

                                             


This card also works for the Stamp Ink Paper Baby Challenge.

                                                                  

Simply Hi! PP292

Sometimes you just want a simple card that says Hi.....and that's all......

I just love this giraffe from Zoo Babies and decided to use him as one of the layers on Claire's fabulous sketch this week at the Paper Players.  

Morning Coffee....FMS234

We all need a little something to get us going in the morning whether it is coffee, tea or Diet Coke!  I am not a morning person so I head right outside for a walk before breakfast to wake me up......followed by a cup of hot tea, cereal.....and then something sweet......after that I am finally ready to start the day!

Our current Artisan Amy O'Neill has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Sets:  Coffee Cozy by Lil' Inkers, SU Timeless Textures

Paper:  Blackberry Bliss, Love Blossoms DSP

Stamp Review Crew: Balloon Celebration

                 

The Stamp Review Crew is featuring Balloon Celebration this week!  It's a great set and I have used it often......mostly for birthdays.  This card is a bit different though......it is done in pink to welcome a baby girl!  The balloons are embossed in white on vellum then punched out to make the bouquet.  

This is always a great hop because we all use the same set - but in oh so many ways!  You have probably just come from talented Artisan Sue Plote's blog!  Your next stop is with Nikki Spencer.  I know she has something terrific in store!

Just My Style.....PP291, CTS168

Pretty much everything in my life - not just my cards -  is clean and simple!  But some people I know question my simple style.  Long ago I was a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding.  We were all dressed and headed to the limo when she said to me "Quick I need to see you back in the bathroom right away!"  Before I knew it she had locked the door behind us and said, "Don't think for one minute that you are going to walk down the aisle at my wedding without a bit of makeup on!"  Yikes - who wants to argue with a bride minutes before her wedding!?!?  So I sat on the edge of the tub and let her paint away and prayed she didn't get anything on her dress!

Many years later my daughter called me into the dressing area of her bridal suite as she got ready for her big day.  As I walked through the door I heard the familiar click of the lock behind me.  Yep there stood my cousin.....makeup kit in hand......

Sandy's CAS Butterfly theme this week at the Paper Players is just my style!  

I love the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch this week........

Global Design Project has a nature theme this week......

Stamp Sets:  Kinda Eclectic, Watercolor Wishes

Paper:  Love Blossoms DSP, Crumb Cake, Vellum

Simply Perfect........PPA296

I love this simple balloon from the SAB set Party Pants

and 

I love how it worked perfectly with Susan Itell's design for us this week at Pals Paper Arts!

GO-SEE-DO.....FMS232

It is always fun to GO-SEE-DO!  Sounds like a line from an old Dick and Jane book! This past weekend we took Emma to visit cuzzies (as she calls them) who live about three hours away.  She had a great time at a children's museum......

And she always loves staying in a hotel......in spite of another evacuation due to someone burning popcorn in a microwave......

Ready for our next adventure........

Narelle (our resident expert in flowers and layers) has a really fun sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches - hope you play along!

Stamps:  SU! Let's Get Away

Paper:  Sahara Sand, Going Places DSP

Ink:  Black, Delightful Dijon

For the New Two- PP290, #GDP030

I am headed to a Jack and Jill shower soon and thought these colors and images would work perfectly for the occasion.  Melon Mambo is such a happy celebratory color.......and it certainly livens up a dinner party......

Joanne's challenge colors at the Paper Players this week are delightful!

I used this sweet sketch from Global Design Project as my layout.

Stamp Set: SU! For the New Two

Adventure Bound! FMS231

My family is small but mighty - an adventurous lot! Everyone is game for most outdoor sports - skiing, snowboarding, waterskiing, snowshoeing, jet skiing, tubing, white water rafting - there has even been some skydiving. But at the end of the day we head for a great restaurant and a nice hotel! No outdoor camping for us!  My son broke his two front teeth setting up cots on his first (and only) tenting expedition. And then there was the night a huge dog chasing something equally huge knocked over our tent - with us inside - on the first (and only) night the big guy and I camped out.  But now my daughter and her family are going to leave the safety net of a good Hampton Inn. They have borrowed an old camper and will be meeting up with friends for an outdoor adventure in a few weeks. I will send them off with this card....which will have gift certificates for Starbucks and a Holiday Inn Express inside...... 

My New Zealand pal Karren Johnson -  an amazing inkmaster - has designed a fun sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I always like something a little askew on a card!  Hope you play along!

Stamp Sets:  Welcome Home by Avery Elle, SU Sheltering Tree, SU Let's Get Away

DSP: SU Going Places

Cardstock: SU Black, White, Delightful Dijon

Ink: Black, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Zig Markers

Welcome to the Neighborhood! PP289

I love Laurie's Western theme this week at the Paper Players!  I grew up watching Westerns on TV with my dad.

WagonTrain.....Rifleman.....Gunsmoke.....Bonanza...Rawhide....Roy Rogers and Dale Evans......Annie Oakley......Gene Autry.......Wyatt Earp....

I am dating myself but I know some of you are nodding and singing the theme songs in your head!  My mother is a city gal born in England and could never understand the allure of campfires, horses and wide open spaces!  I think she did figure out the allure of cowboys though....... ;0)

Anyway......when our new neighbors move in down the street I will package up some cookies with this card tucked inside.  And there's a new sheriff in town these days......I will take her along to guard the shipment!

Stamp Set:  Home Sweet Home by Avery Elle

Ink:  Distress Inks for background and Zig markers for teepees

Die Cuts:  Stitched Mountains, Stitched Hillsides