did i mention Pink Paislee is giving pretties away?

well it's true!

join us at Paper Issues while we're in the homestretch - our current issue is all about Moms and Pink Paislee (one, the other, or a combination of the two!), and we want to see your creations! 

CLICK HERE and check out the gorgeous things the Paper Issues ladies have done with Pink Paislee's gorgeous Hope Chest line - seriously AH-MAY-ZING.  i mean it! 

i played with some Spring Jubilee plus some glittery PP chippie alphas i've hoarded for way too long (because the color is just fabulous), and this little card was born:

yeah, initially i thought i might shoot for something CAS.  needless to say, once i started cutting into those papers, CAS was out of the question.  all i added was the doily and the center bling, but the rest is all PP. 

so you wanna win one of TWO prize packs from our OSS sponsor?  yeah, i know you do.  CLICK.  trust me!  read all about it, and do some browsing while you're at it.  the inspiration is kinda ridic.  YUM.

by the way, you can find some pretties like THIS

at the Paper Issues etsy shop...  and you can snag 'em for
20% off using the code ORANGE!  ('cuzza me!)

Pink Paislee is sponsoring us at Paper Issues!

wellie wellie wellie...  Mother's Day in the U.S. was this past Sunday, and even though i haven't seen my mother in, well, 24 years, i have to say i'm super lucky because i have the most OSS of Mothers-in-Law!  she loves popcorn as much as i do, she got into the cardmaking thing with me a few years ago and accumulated a bunch of stuff that i will inherit when i move into my new home, and no matter how many times we go visit my in-laws for dinner, it's still not enough.  :)  she's spunky and wears the pants, and i can spend hours and hours with her and still not want to poke my eyes out with a butter knife.  that's a GOOD SIGN.

so, in honour of my MIL, a card for our current issue at Paper Issues!

this one features one of the mini-kits from the Paper Issues Etsy shop - the Collectable Journey kit isn't available anymore, but there are always similar ones with fun little papers and embellies (mmm, twine), like THIS ONE!  so the twine and papers are from my little kit, the circle and flower stickers are from BasicGrey's Fact & Fiction line (get more yummy BG goodness RIGHT HERE), the chevron and SMILE stamps are Some Odd Girl, and the Happy Mother's Day sentiment and buttons are from SP & Company.

okay.  so did you make something for Mother's Day?  have you made anything using Pink Paislee products?

welllllllll...  Pink Paislee is generously giving away 2 fabby prize packs - one featuring the gorgeous Hope Chest collection (which the Paper Issues girls rocked for the hop!), and one from the Cottage Farms collection.  so go COMMENT!  HOP!  and give us a little Facebook LIKEY action!  and for an added bonus, LINK UP!  share your project featuring anything using Pink Paislee products, or any Mother's Day project, and you're bettering the odds you'll be one of our lucky winners!  CLICK HERE to check out the Issue, and to see the team's amazing creations.  OH, and go shopping!  use my code for 20% off everything!

okay, so my post has been SUPER wordy.  i think it's time to call it a day and get back to my online courses for the American Bankers Association and fall asleep in front of my computer.  BRING IT!  :)

Lazy Day Kaylee is our new Featured Digi at Some Odd Girl!

and you, folks, have just two more days to get your votes in for our Odd Idol competition!  it's been a GREAT second round, the competition is FIERCE, with amazing creations from our 20 contenders.  CLICK HERE to place your votes (and don't forget to check out Some Odd World while you're there - it's a fun and happenin' little place!).

i'm sharing a project i created to showcase our gorgeous new Featured Digi at Some Odd Girl...  for the next two weeks, this little lady is 35% off!  helloooooooo Lazy Day Kaylee!

 

i love this little miss, truly.  i have used her for a slew of cards - everything from Thinking of You to Miss You to Birthday to Hi to Let's Get Together.  she's so versatile!  and here's a situation where i'm not crazy about the pleats but they kind of disappear with all that flowery stuff going on anyway.  :)  SAVED!

anywho, she's ON SALE.  you know digis are already wonderfully affordable, right?  well grab her now for super cheap and show us what ELSE she can do!  :D 

here's a close-up of my gal, coloured up with my Prismacolor Pencils:

 

and that BLING?  yum.  from Want2Scrap - it's Nestabling

deliciousness and i'm totally hoarding it.  no, i won't share.  :p

all righty.  so CLICK HERE to see more inspiration from our Odd Girls, and CLICK HERE to get a Lazy Day Kaylee for your collection.  and CLICK HERE to vote for our very FIRST Odd Idol!  and CLICK HERE for random cuteness.  :)  that is all.

Black and White and ONE COLOR at Charisma! Check out our sponsors!

howdy, chickens!  yep, i've been a little more active around these parts lately - well, i'm all fired up and will have my own crafty space soon, so get USED TO IT!  :)

today, i'm sharing a little something i FINALLY pulled together yesterday in celebration of our new challenge at Charisma Cardz...  our sponsors ROCK, and i was provided with this fabby image, but i just couldn't get it right.  i was trying my usual combinations for skin and black hair and then did the dress and boots and it was awful.  twice, i mucked this image up, before finally settling on my monochromatic coloring technique, and i really should have just gone with it in the first place.  anyway, when i tell you i was beating myself up over it, that's an understatement!  not only was i too close to the deadline, but i was embarrassed because by now, i should just be able to pick up my pencils, color, and be done with it.  NOPE.  amateur!  okay, okay, it's not self-deprecating Thursday.  and i'm rambling. :)

here's my card, using an image called Becki from the awesome Saturated Canary (one of our sponsors for this challenge):

 

Our challenge?  BLACK AND WHITE AND ONE OTHER COLOR.

so it may be a little hard to see, but she's all blue.  i literally used 4 different blue pencils, and that's it.  how much do i love using this technique?  it really takes a lot of guesswork out of the whole thing when you limit yourself.  some papers there from Teresa Collins and Bo Bunny, bling stickers from Jolee's, ribbon and pin from i-have-no-idea, bingo card from, well, i'm not sure because i thought it was Jenni Bowlin but the font has me thrown off (i didn't buy 'em so i have no packaging).  Martha Stewart butterfly punch and teeny tiny pearls from Kaisercraft.  oh, and a Sharpie.  :)

close up, anyone?

 

the brightness on my computer monitor is the PITS, so i have no idea whether this is too bright or too dark or too saturated (no pun intended), but there she is.  i'm kind of in lurve with her HAIR!  (but much to hubbin's chagrin, i am NOT cutting my hair off)  Becki rocks the bob.  :)

SO. there's m'card.  there's our challenge.  there's one of our sponsors (Krista is giving away a $10 gift certificate to spend at Saturated Canary!)... the other one?  Marker Pop!  $10 to spend there, too!  WOO!  'cuz you're going to need more markers to use when coloring your fabby images, right?!

CLICK HERE to go to the challenge, and check out the fun things our Charisma Galz have done!  their projects are GORGEOUS (and blue was popular, for some reason!).  you have until next Wednesday to play along (but be sure to read the rules!).  xoxox

and i'm joining in the fun at:

Creative Card Crew - they want BLING (so bling i brought!)
Cute Card Thursday - they're looking for something BLUE (how about a BLUE GIRL?)
Really Reasonable Ribbon - they want Sparkle, Bling, and Ribbon (check, check, checkity check!)

Color challenge at SP & Company - I'm guest blogging today!

hey hey hey!

it's late, but it's been a NUTTY day, and i am so pleased that things are moving along so well for the new house.  settlement is scheduled for MAY 29th, and i couldn't be more excited!  not only that, but we showed our condo to a lady last night, and she came back tonight with her son, and she asked us to call her as soon as the house is listed and she wants to make us an offer.  we disclosed our asking price, and they said it's well within their price range, so it sounds like a match made in heaven!

anywho, today there's a brand new color challenge at SP & Company, and i showed you a little Skating Girl a couple of weeks ago, and today i have another sweet little set to share.  this is the Best Mom Ever set (the image and sentiment come from the set, and there are SIX sentiments in total!):

 

here's a close-up of "Mom", colored this time in Copics
(and honestly, i liked how ALL of it came out, except for her hair!):

 

the SP & Company stamps are seriously wonderful - they stamp boldly and cleanly, and the impression is consistently even.  i kinda seriously love 'em.  and OH MY GOOMIE, Sami has a slew of seriously oss new sets from Gill Roberts (like this set and Skating Girl), but wait until you see what's coming soon!  the next couple of months are HUGE, and you'll want to set aside a few dollars for some shopping.  :)

are you as obsessed with wood veneer as i am?  MMMMM:

and if you happen to see any more of those Heidi Swapp mirrors, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
i have been hanging onto mine for dear life and the packages are nearly empty.  they're dreamy!

okay.  SO.  challenge!  CLICK HERE for all the deets - it's a color challenge, so we're looking for RED, PINK and GREY on your creations.  you have until May 31st to enter, you must use at least ONE SP & Company product on your creation (and you really should check out the shop...  there are also freebies HERE), and you could win a nifty $10 to spend on pretties at SP & Company on anything you'd like!  WOOT!  (check out the DIES...  they're on sale, and they're UH-MAY-ZING.  just sayin'!)

 

playing along with challenges at:

Crafty Creations - they're looking for something old and something new (the mirror is SO OLD, and the stamp set is new!)
Papertake Weekly - it's Anything Goes over there!

and i shall be back tomorrow to share my challenge card for Charisma!  :)  happy hump day!

my grand debut at Paper Issues!

WOOT!  it's introduction day for yours truly at the Paper Issues blog, and there might be a thing or two you might not know about me.  :)  CLICK TO CHECK ME OUT, and maybe do some shopping at the Paper Issues store using my 20% off friends discount!  (code ORANGE)

oh, and i got the yummiest of happy mail packages from PI yesterday, so lemme just show you what kinda stuff you can get there...

'cuz some of you might not be familiar with my love for all things BasicGrey, i'll just say that those Hipster and Mint Julep chippies are DELISH and you can find the BG stuff HERE...  but hurry, 'cuz stuff goes QUICKLY, because it's all so fabulous.  not to mention it always comes wrapped so BEAUTIFULLY by the lovely Cassie Box!  that girl is the cat's peejays.


and speaking of BasicGrey, my project on the Paper Issues blog is all about the BG.  CHECKITY CHECK ME OUT!  and have an oss hump day.   

a just because kind of thing

because i can't stop oohing and ahhing over all the pretties in the Paper Issues shop...  and because when my packages from PI show up, i just want to dive into them and play for HOURS on end...  here's a little something just 'cuz:

camera stamp is Amy Tangerine, that fabby orange brick washi is available HERE, and the Studio Calico arrow is just dreamy.  the other stuff - white recycled packaging (it's glossy), "sweet" stamp and heart cluster from Studio G, alphas from Sass.  <3 br=""> now i'm sure you wanna go shopping, right?  use my discount for 20% off your whole order at Paper Issues!  :)

Odd Idol first round has ENDED! 20 people advancing to Round 2!

hey there, chickens!  what's chickin'?  :)

it's Friday - WOOT!  we've applied for our mortgage and things are in the bank's hands while we wait for the appraisal.  Monday is our home inspection (and i'm already getting poorer and poorer by the day!) and if things continue to go smoothly (big bucks, big bucks, no whammies!), then we are expecting a settlement date of May 29th.  NEW HOME!  :)  and i will be a homeowner for the first time ever!  SO exciting...  that also means i'll be getting a kitty soon thereafter, and THAT, dear chickens, makes me very happy! 

okay, enough gushing.  life is good!  it's going to be an awesome day at work, and an awesome day on the world wide web.  know why?  well i'll tell ya!  the first round of Odd Idol closed on Wednesday night, and we have some people advancing to Round 2!  check out Some Odd World and/or the Some Odd Girl blog and cheer our crafters on!  we're announcing the next challenge theme, and we're showing you which projects were selected by our judges (read: Odd Girls), and we're reminding you how totes oss the prize is for our big winner!  crikey.  seriously, it's ridiculously awesome.

YEP.  told you so!  our generous sponsors rock in a very big way, and we can't wait to see what the winner will do with all this fabby swag!  SO.  CLICK HERE to see what's going on and have a WONDERFUL weekend!  :)