Page of the Month "Lucky You" & Stampin' Celebration Challenge #43

Every month I do a simply layout out for my scrapbook club.  I knew I wanted March's pages to be green but I didn't want them to be overly St. Patty's Day feeling - I loved the combination of green and brown on the Stampin' Celebration challenge and used it for my color inspiration.  Using the Woodland Walk DSP, card stock in Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake along with my Big Shot I was able to create a super simple page.  I added the four leaf clover stamp from the Sale-A-Bration set "So Happy for You" along with a little Color Spritz effect to add a little depth.  I used a Gold Glitter Brad as the center of the flower - my own pot-o-gold inspiration.  I love the subtle nod to St. Patty's Day without being over the top. 

PPA84 - Spring

I'm hoping that Spring will be here soon. (Actually I'd be more than happy if we could just skip straight to summer.)  For the last week or so it's been raining - not something us eastern Washingtonians are used too - so the snow is mostly gone and all of our hibernating lawns are being exposed.  I think that's where my inspiration for my card came from.  When putting together my "Spring" card I was drawn to multiple shades of green but it didn't feel quite right until I popped a little blushing bride in with it.  This card feels so much like Spring to me - a little dirty & messy, with a hint of color showing through.   

PPA 83 - Color Challenge

This week's Pals Paper Arts challenge is a color challenge and it's colors I love using so I am excited!  Baja Breeze is one of my newest favorites, Crumb Cake is a classic neutral and Soft Suede is the perfect accent color and the ink color I use most.  I have been creating a lot of distressed or rustic looking projects lately and this one is no different.  I just love this paper from the Springtime Vintage DSP collection and couldn't resist using it as my inspiration for this card.  As I was working on my layout for this card I glanced over at my open Occasions Mini and saw a layout on pg. 14 that caught my eye and decided to use it as a rough template for this card.  This is one of the things I love about all of Stampin' Up's catalogs - not only are they full of wonderful products but they are packed full of fabulous projects! 

Handmade Gift Wrap

A few weeks ago I was visiting my family who live on the other side of the state (Seattle) and had a belated birthday celebration for me.  My nephews (3yrs & 18 months) made the above wrapping paper for my gift.  What a clever idea - nice work sis!  It made the gift extra special.  Since it's crafty and handmade I had to post it!

February Class - Stationary Project

Today is my monthly class and I thought I would share what we're creating.  I think my ladies are going to have a great time!

Here is the link for the box - Stamping 411

Oh My Goodness - I was nominated!

I originally created my blog to share what was going on in my world (travel, cooking, projects, etc) - then I joined Stampin' Up in the summer of 2009 and my blog morphed into a showcase of current projects and challenge designs.  I love being part of the paper crafting blog-o-shere.  How can you not love peaking at incredibly talented bloggers to seek inspiration.  This award is a great way to share a few of those blogs with you!  I'm completely honored to have been nominated for this award!  Thank you to my aunt, upline and friend Tara Bilbao who nominated me - her creations are goreous if you haven't checked out her blog you need to!

The Liebster Blog Award is given to bring new blogs to light. It's a great way to share blogs that might not otherwise be seen or ones you want to share with others.

As a recipient of this award I must share the love and pay it forward by:

1-Creating a post where I blog about the Liebster award & reveal my 3-5 blog picks
2-Let the honorees know that I selected them
3-Copy & paste the blog award on my blog

Here are my nominations:
Pam Giudici - Wacky Whippet Stamper
Lori Rider - The Diva Stamper
Gretchen Barron - Inspiration In Action

While I don't know any of these women personally I love their creations and find inspiration in all their designs.  Thank you for sharing your gift with all of us!

Stamping Royalty - Marker Challenge

Stamping Royalty is having a marker challenge this week.  I have slowly been collecting Stampin' Ups markers.  I love that they color coordinate - like all there products.  One of my favorite tools is the Color Spritzer Tool!  When I was a kid I remember using paint brushes and straws to create the same effect.  The tool is so easy to use and you get this great splatter effect.  I'm a big believer in keeping it simple; not only in my cards and crafts but in my home, closet, and cooking.  So with this challenge I kept it simple.  I used the Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive markers to create this card.  I colored the flower from the Hello Again stamp set (Sale-A-Bration set) and outlined it with Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink (it's hard to see in the photo).  I used the Spritzer tools to create the splatter effect, then added a couple brads and the striped grosgrain ribbon - it was quick and simple to create but I love the finished look.