A CUPCAKE FOR MY NIECE

Tuesday is my little niece Jacquelines 7th birthday. I dont get to actually see her on her special day, as she lives in New York, so I usually send her a gift card to her favorite store. She loves going to Target, so that is the gift card I chose. Now for the hard part~ how to present it to her in a new and fun way.
This is where my good friend Sharon came in, (link to her blog on the sidebar). She showed me the most adorable cupcake that also serves as a gift card holder. I was sold right away, that this was what I wanted to make for Jackie. We did the tutorial over the phone and thru emails, as my friend was not feeling too well. All went relatively smooth and I was quite pleased with the results. I chose bright happy pinks and multicolored- dotted ribbon as I thought this was very little girly. (proper wording?) The dots on the ribbon reminded me of sprinkles. It stands about 4 inches tall.
I am now going to make one that I can keep for myself. Mine will be beige and robins egg blue. Thanks for stopping by~

A SPRING "BUNNY" SWAP

Over at one of my groups, Etsy Cottage Style, we decided to do a "bunny swap" for spring. Your swap had to include 3 things,
1- a bunny
2-an egg
3-a chick.
Your partner was chosen at random among the girls who wanted to participate. I got a great girl named Kat (who I hope isnt seeing this post). I had alot of fun making these things for her. For the bunny part, I made a vintage style easter card with a retired stamp from Stampin Up. I also used this bunny on the yellow gift box which is actually a Yankee Candle Tart holder. After I made it, I put in some easter grass and 6 tarts in spring scents. The egg part is a beautiful little nest with tiny robins eggs in it that I got while on a recent shopping trip with my family. It was so cute, I had to have one for myself. And for the chick part, I mod podged some scrapbook paper and a vintage image of a boy with baby chicks to a purchased tin bucket. I added some Martha Stewart seam binding ribbon and some prima hydrangeas, and a little sprig of blossoms from my flower collection. And of course I added a little bag of chocolate eggs! Whats a holiday without some chocolate?? I hope she likes her gift.It is going to the post office now and I'll show you what I receive from her when it arrives~
Thanks for stopping by...

SWEET INSPIRATION...

I have busy this week working on Easter cards, as spring is right around the corner. I love this season, as it holds so much promise and joy, both in the spiritual and visual sense. And in the creative chaos I call my work desk, I spotted what I thought was such a pretty little vignette of ribbon, inks and an old Easter stamp. This arrangement came about not on purpose, but because there is so little room on this desk to work sometimes, that things start to blend together~ and it gave me some sweet inspiration.
May you also be inspired with the promise of Spring...
Thanks for stopping by~

SPRING BREAK~

My son Michael had his spring break from Appalachian State University this week. I was not able to post as much as we spent some fun days together.We went shoppping one day, ate some awesome barbeque another, and just had fun all being together. He is just a joy, and I am honored to be his mom. My husband is taking him back to school as we speak, but in 8 short weeks, he will be home for the summer. Have a productive rest of the semester Michael~ and we will be back soon to get you!

NEW BLOG CANDY ALERTS!!!

Some new great blog candy alerts for all of you! It always amazes me how generous people in this community of stampers are!! Its wonderful. So go and check these out:
http://karinhoeve.blogspot.com/. hurry- just till tomorrow!!!!
http://jeanettespages.blogspot.com/. this one is good till the 21st of march~
http://threecloversdesigns.blogspot.com
http://quackingcreations.blogspot.com go see these wonderful blogs for a chance to win~

A SAD DAY

Today is a sad day for me, as I have just been notified that my wonderful EBAY group called The Elite Paper Artists, or TEPA for short, has closed its doors forever. I have been an artist in some form or another all my life, even getting my BA in Commercial Design. I did not however do any of this on the computer until about 2 1/2 years ago. I started selling my vintage books on EBAY, and before long, I was invited to join this group of talented ladies. All wonderful paper artists, we became a type of sisterhood, discussing everything from the newest trends in paper arts to family life.
I saw weddings, births, even a separation. But through it all we stuck together and became fast friends. I think that I will have to place most of the blame for this on the economy. It was getting very discouraging, as sales slowed to a crawl. Many of the members now had to devote more time to paying the bills, etc. Ladies that were stay at home moms had to go and get a job, or some had to work longer hours, leaving less and less time for our beloved group. We are friends though, and will remain TEPA sisters. Hopefully one day in the future, we can join up again.
But for now, it is a sad day. Goodbye TEPA~ I will miss you.

FLOWERS BY SUGAR NELLIE

This is another great stamp by Elizabeth Bell for Sugar Nellie. The name of the stamp is Flowers. I made this card from a tag style card I had seen on Tiets blog. The cardstock is from a DCWV cardstock bundle, and all of the DP is scraps from other projects. The sentiment is from American Art Stamps. I have used Prima flowers, a crystal, MS bird punch, and MS ribbon. The border punch is Threading water by Fiskars. And of course I have colored her with my Copic Markers. I punched and set the large eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile. I really like that tool. I recently added the pink storage case and its great because I have my tool and my bigger eyelets all together and easy to find, which, if you saw my art studio~ is a big deal. LOL.

There is plenty of room inside to write a sentiment and this card would be good for so many diffewreent occasions. Thanks for stopping by.

LUVVIE

ISNT SHE TOO ADORABLE?? This is Luvvie form a scottish stamp company called Funky Kits. She is a Leanne Ellis design and comes as an unmounted grey rubber stamp. I have colored her with my Copics, and the card is 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches square. The dp is Basic Grey Two Scoops, and the cardstock is some scraps from my collection. I have used prima hydrangeas with crystals, and flourishes from Accucut that were cut with my Cuttlebug.

The pretty sentiment , which I think goes perfectly is from an old set of wood mounted stamps from Brenda Walton.

Here is a view of the inside of the card. Edging done with my MS doily edge border punch. Thanks for stopping by on this cold and gray day.