"Be an Optimist Prime Not a Negatron"

I am a big fan of Michelle Williams of Amusing Michelle. She creates beautiful extreme CAS cards. I just saw she is the muse this month and I wanted to show my love for her work by entering the Muse Challenge for the first time.  Here is Michelle's card:

I love the vibrant colors, the sentiment focal point in the center and the wonderful one layer. Hope I did this right :)

I am going to enter this in the Play Date Cafe Challenge this time too.

I also wanted you all to get ready for June because it's gonna start to feel like old times here on the blog with lots of posts and lots of stories.

I am gonna leave you with a little bit of funny that I try to remember these days :)

GCD Studios Baby Boy Card

I always say "babies are a blessing" and I mean every word. Making baby cards is the most fun because usually the design, from the papers to the colors, have a very specific requirement: they have to be CUTE!

Today I made a baby boy card using papers from the Pure Bliss Collection from GCD Studios. The versatility of this paper pack is just amazing. Depending on what combination of the papers you use, your card can be used to make a wide range of themed cards.

I love the look of layers on a handmade card, something the store bought cards can never compete with!

Supplies:
GCD Pure Bliss Collection: Dizzy Heart (2022), Label Stickers (2033)
Other: burlap remnant, Papertrey Ink banner die, stamp Nursery Necessities by Stampin' Up, twine Lawn Fawn

ABNH Celebrates a New Baby for Kelly!

Our A Blog Named Hero teammate Kelly just had a baby BOY! Welcome Baby Nathanial!!! So we are having a baby shower of sorts. I found this elephant via Laura Bassen who found this via the Silhouette! The stamp is Hero Arts :)

So I thought it would be fun to share with you what I thought the minute I saw my 4 babies:

1. Sophia: "Oh she is so cute!" I didn't know what my baby would look like, since she was my first, so I was pleasantly surprised.

2. Bennett: "He is so white!" Ben also had blue eyes (they turned hazel like his daddy). I just assumed a tan lady would have tan children, but genetics doesn't quite work like that.

3. Anya: "She is so hairy and pretty!" Her hair shed and she is still so very pretty :)

4. Karina: "She looks like a mouse, specifically Stewart Little!" She now looks just like my mother, its kind of special to see a reminder of my mom every day.

Did you have any thoughts you specifically remember when you saw your baby for the first time?

RIC #36

the runway show is on at Project Runway Challenge! Look at this trendy photo inspiration!!!

it's hard to tell in the photo, but to get the textured background I took a piece of red textured cardstock and then rubbed barn door distress in on it using the stamp pad flatly. This was my sad attempt to create something from scratch like my teamie Tasnim is so well known for! To represent the button on her collar I punched out the circle and used a round sentiment. The triangles were a must have for this creation in grey and brown. I always enjoy seeing how people were inspired by the photo. The things people notice aways amazes me!

The stamps are from Mama Elephant and Hero Arts/SC. 

This week our guest designer is the awesome Debby Hughes! And the prize is Ellen Hutson gift certification. It's a winning week!

Nina

Virginia

Tasnim

Pamela

Laura

Aga on maternity leave

Jennifer 

Ok people of RIC, give us your good stuff and play along! I can't wait to see what you make! and that's not just a line, I really can't wait!!!

Mission Ignition #3: Charm Cards

I am returning to the color series for A Blog Named Hero

This time I am going to tackle:

I love paper packs and use them as color inspiration sometimes. For this card, I used the Be Amazing paper pack from My Minds Eye.

and this sketch by Lisa Spangler for Studio Calico:

to make what I like to call CHARM CARDS:

The card was inspired by charm bracelets. Now I don't wear much jewelry, but I do love the look of trinkets on a bracelet. I have a few more projects on the blog, including essential elements to making your own CHARM CARD, so click over and check it out!

ABNH Celebrates Baby Declan and A Winner!

Sorry so late with this post, but I just got back from Vegas for a weekend away with the hubby to celebrate my brother's birthday. What a fun time! The last time my husband and I got an adults only vacation was over 10 years ago so this was a special treat. We saw the Cirque De Soleil show LOVE, played BINGO (which was on my bucket list of life), hiked the desert canyons, took NAPS (whaaat? that NEVER happens at home!), shopped, went to dinner (I ate Brazilian food for the first time, pretty tasty), and went to the movies, which we don't do hardly ever either. It was like a great long date!

While I was gone, our A Blog Named Hero teamie had her baby and I didn't get to post my card here on my blog. Here is my card for new baby Declan! I adore babies so congrats Steph on your beautiful blessing.

I used the Penny Black Let's Go Wild to create this glittery banner background.

I used another Penny Black stamp set called Embellishments to make the button border.  The chipboard goodies are from Echo Park called Bundle of Joy.

I also wanted to post my winner for the Heidi Sonboul Blog Hop!

My Paper Epiphany! You Win!!!! Please email me your address and I will send this out to you!

Well that's it for me. I got to get back to reality now folks,  back to kids and work and cleaning and all that business, till next time...

Wida

RIC #35 and Mainstream Cards vs Artsy Cards

using the walkway as the jumping off point...

The stamps are from Penny Black. I was feeling like my last few RIC cards were a little on the artsy side and I wanted to show some range and come back to mainstream card making. Do you ever do that? Create cards and then all the sudden you think, will NORMAL people like this? If this card was in a store for sale, would people buy them? Sometimes I blur the lines between cards that are art and cards that are market worthy. Kind of reminds me of one of my favorite shows Project Runway. There are some designers that put on a great show, but no one would BUY their fashions. I know if Elena Roussakis had a card for sale, I would buy her stuff in a heartbeat! And all the design team ladies always make great sell-able cards too...

Nina

Virginia

Tasnim

Pamela

Laura

Aga (on maternity leave)

Jennifer 

The prize is the a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp so come play!!!!! So which do you prefer? What kind of card wows you?

Heidi Sonboul Signature Series Blog Hop

this is my second post of the day, to see my GCD studios shaped card for teacher with tutorial, scroll down!

For my card today, I used papers and stickers from Heidi's new line called Sunkissed. 

These hearts remind me of sprinkle cookies, just ran them through the sticker maker and then sprinkled glitter on top!

The Line Up

GCD Studios

Alicia Thelin

Amanda Coleman

Angi Barrs

Audrey Yeager Christina Collins Christine Meyer Grace Tolman Heidi Van Laar  Jennifer Chapin Julie Tucker-Wolek Katrina Hunt Kelly Holbrook Lalo IK Megan Klauer Nina Yang Pam Callaghan Rae Barthel Rochelle Spears Sara Zenger Suzanna Lee Teri Anderson Wida Miller <---YOU ARE HERE
I am giving away a cute set of brads from the collection to someone. Just leave a comment to the following question: What do you like to see in blogs (great photos, stories, tutorials, innovative ideas? videos? or whatever you can think of)?

Now Head over to Heidi Sonboul's new site for a chance to win the newest tool from Fiskars and her two newest collections, Special Delivery and SunKissed.

To order the book you can go here:

GCD Studios Card For Teacher

Hi Everyone!

As we near the end of the school year, I am reminded that one of my favorite things to do for my kids' teacher is to make a special card and include a gift.

The Pure Bliss Collection from GCD Studios has an alphabet paper that is just perfect for a teacher card. It was a MUST USE to create my card today.

I started by die cutting 2 stars using my Silhouette. The size of the stars are 5inches in diameter. You could also use Spellbinder dies or free hand cut the star shape.

Create a card by scoring the bottom star at the top and adhering to the back of the top star.

Then I punched 3/4 inch strips of paper with my scalloped edge punch and adhered them on the card, cutting away the excess.

I made my own garland from heart punches sewn together. The paper pack also comes with a sheet that looks like small journaling tags. I used one to stamp my sentiment.

I embellished my card further with stickers and pink enamel dots. You could even hole punch the top of the card to transform it into a tag!

Supplies:
Paper-Pure Bliss-Alphabet #2019, Pink Honeycomb #2023, Journal Tags #2025, Label Stickers #2033
Stamp-Papertrey Ink
Punches-scalloped edge punch and 3 heart punch from Stampin' Up!
other: Silhouette, enamel dots Ambrosia

Thanks SO much for stopping by!

Heidi Sonboul Signature Series Book

There is some exciting news from our GCD Studio's design team coordinator, Heidi Sonboul.  I am happy to share it with you all that she has published her first book!

The digital copy goes live on the 1st of May

The paper back hits stands on the 15th of May. You can purchase her book HERE

The book release blog party takes place on May 6  and we will share projects using her two new paper lines: Sunkissed and Special Delivery. I hope you will join us!