Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge - September 2016

Welcome to the September Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge!  Isn't this one beautiful inspiration photo??  I was inspired by the colors as always and the beautiful flowers.  And here is what I created for you:

I used the With Love Die to cut out my heart doily.  I love that the lacy border and the inside cut separately... it allows me so much flexibility... I can make the border one color and the inside a different color or like on this card, I decided to emboss the center.

I used that cute little bee stamp and die from the Bee Happy sets and some paper and crocheted flowers from my stash.  I clustered the flowers around the bow I made with that yummy crinkly seam binding ribbon from Paper Sweeties... my favorite ribbon!

And of course I used some of my favorite sequins and don't you just love that pretty little sentiment?

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to play along this month for a chance to win some free stuff!  And come back on the 14th to check out the September release... it's gonna be another good one!!

Now move along and see what all of my Design Teammates have made for you today:

Beth Luetschwager
Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

Jeri Thomas 
Jill Norwood 

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett
Lilian Forsyth  
Lisa Bzibziak (You are Here!)

Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michele Henderson
Michelle Bala

Nancy Salkeld 
September Guest Designer:  Dawn Barwick

With Love Sweet Cuts Paper Sweeties	Bee Happy Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	Bee Happy Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties	Peppermint Sequins - Paper Sweeties	Cookie Dough Sequins--Paper Sweeties
Cookie Dough Seam Binding - Paper Sweeties

CDD Watercolor Challenge and the New Shimmer Sequins!

Just got back from a long vacation.. feel like I was gone forever!!  Quick post with Cupcake Cutie Monkey today to remind you that you have until tomorrow to play along with the CDD August Digi Challenge all about watercolor!  Play along for your free digi!

Also, next month there will be a big change to the CDD challenges so check out Tara's post in the Gallery and please do ask if you have any questions!

I also used the Stitched In Circle Dies and Flag Banner dies on this one... two of my most loved!  And have you seen my new favorite CDD Shimmer Sequins??

So awesome and versatile and you can use them on any project... beautiful!

So, head on over to the CDD Gallery and play along!  There's still plenty of time!  

I came home to a whole boatload of Happy Mail (including my awesome new CDD dies from the August Release) and I have lots of thanks to give out and please bear with me because I want to make sure I do them all justice.. I'm overwhelmed and so so humbled... I have some awesome friends and so much to tell you about!  Come back soon!!

Here are the CDD Products I Used on this project:

Monkey Cupcake Cutie http://craftindesertdivas.com/cupcake-cutie-monkey-digital-stamp/
Stitched In Circles Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/stitched-in-circle-dies/
Flag Banner Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/flag-banner-dies/
Shimmer Sequins http://craftindesertdivas.com/shimmer-sequins/
Doodlebug Kraft In Color Paper Pad http://craftindesertdivas.com/kraft-in-color-paper-pad/

Cutting Cafe Inspiration for August 21st

Welcome to some more Cutting Cafe Inspiration!  This time around I used the Pencil Shaped Card cutting file for my project and here is what I made:

I decided to not cut a shaped card from the file... instead I made the pieces a little smaller that would normally decorate the front of the card and only cut those.. and I decided if I were using a pencil to write a letter... it would have to be a pretty one.  I picked out all of my papers from the Echo Park Spring Paper Pad available in The Cutting Cafe Shop (except for the note paper which I believe is from Simple Stories).

And since of course I'll be sending such letter/card snail mail I took the opportunity to use the awesomely adorable stamp set Animal & Bug Love also from the Cutting Cafe Shop... isn't he a cutie... the snail and the sentiment are from that set.  I placed some of that pretty paper behind my star cutout on my bow... I like the way that looks...

And with the help of a few dies, sequins, puffies and some pretty ribbon... it's ready to be mailed!

Thanks for stopping by!  And don't forget to check out the Cutting Cafe Blog on the 21st and comment to win some free files!  Also, take the opportunity to hop around and check out what my other Design Teammates have cooked up for you!

I may not be back with anything new for a bit as I'm going to be on vacation soon, unless I schedule a couple more posts before I go... hmmm... possible?  Maybe!  But if not, you'll be hearing from me when I get back!  See you soon!

Climb Aboard the Magic Bus with CDD

The August Digi Challenge over at CDD is all about the watercolor!  Love!  AND this week the Linky Party is all about Watercolor too!  And side note... New Releases are tomorrow!!!  You aren't going to miss it... it's a little different this month so mark yourself as "Going" to the event on Facebook!

Here's what I've made:

 I started with a watercolor background... I just splushed a little color around.  I kind of was going for a tie dyed effect and although I fell short of that, I was pretty happy with my background.   I let some of my colors dry in between so I had a little bit of overlap, but not as much as I sometimes want.

I used the Picture Frame die to cut it out and then to allow the bus to stand out, but not cover up my background, I cut a scalloped frame from the Fancy Frames dies.  Hard to tell here but the bus bounces... it's on a spring!  Someday I'll add some video to my posts... maybe a little...someday...

When I saw that cute little School Bus Digi and the Flower Power Digis this is what came to mind for me...lol!  My kids are grown and back to school just means a longer commute to work for me... and the Magical Stamp set had the perfect sentiment for me...

Love the Wishful Thoughts stamp set with some words with larger fonts and sentiments with smaller fonts... very versatile!

And I got giddy when I saw the spray of flourishes and stars on the Magical Wishes set...lol.. because I thought it made the perfect environmentally friendly exhaust!

Here are links to the CDD Products I've Used:

School Bus Digital Stamp http://craftindesertdivas.com/school-bus-digital-stamp/
Flower Power Digital Stamp http://craftindesertdivas.com/flower-power-digital-stamp/
Citrus Bliss Sequins http://craftindesertdivas.com/citrus-bliss-sequins/
Magical Wish Stamp Set http://craftindesertdivas.com/citrus-bliss-sequins/
Wishful Thoughts Stamp Set http://craftindesertdivas.com/wishful-thoughts/
Fancy Frames Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/fancy-frame-dies/
Picture Frame Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/picture-frame-die/
Doodlebug Kraft In Color Paper http://craftindesertdivas.com/kraft-in-color-paper-pad/
Doodlebug Sprinkles http://craftindesertdivas.com/search.php?search_query=sprinkles&Search

Paper Sweeties and Pile It On Team Up Again!

Paper Sweeties is sponsoring the Pile It On Challenge again this time around and there are still a few more days to play along!  A $25 Paper Sweeties Gift Certificate is up for grabs!

Here's my project for the Pile It On Challenge #114-Make Your Own Background:

One of my favorite Paper Sweeties Stamp Sets is the Pretty Posies set... and after I made my stained glass window the other day, I started thinking that would be a great background!  And I saved my little masks I had made from that project (slipped them right into the sleeve with the stamp set) so it was that much easier to get started!

After stamping my background I used my Zig watercolor markers to color in those pretty flowers.  I originally intended to use the colors for the wedding I'm going to this weekend... these aren't them...lol.. but it's pretty so I'm good with that!  I added the outside of the heart doily from the With Love Sweet Cuts in gold vellum.

I also decided that I loved my mini shaker from a previous project that I created with the Stitched Tag set so I used Stitched Tags #1 this time.  I added a few premade paper flowers, a fabric heart and ... well... of course some squigglies from Sweet Borders Sweet Cuts!

I used some gold organza ribbon this time... I wanted that background to show through as much as possible and the organza helps me do that.

These flower shaped cupped sequins from Paper Sweeties.. yum!

And the sentiment on the front is simple... Love... the inside will say more, but really, my wish for them is that simple... Love.

So!  Go check out the Pile It On Challenge and maybe you'll win some free stuff!!

And don't forget it's Paper Sweeties Birthday Celebration all month!  Join us!  The prize for this month's Inspiration Challenge is a $100 gift certificate!!!

Pretty Posies Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	Stitched Tags #1 Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties	With Love Sweet Cuts Paper Sweeties	Happy - Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties	Sweet Cuts Sweet Borders - Paper Sweeties
Gold Sequins - Paper Sweeties	Bubblegum Sequins - Paper Sweeties	Creamsicle Sequins--Paper Sweeties

Paper Sweeties August 2016 New Release Rewind!

Welcome to the August Release Rewind!  Today we will show you how awesome the new Window and Window Elements sets play with all of your favorite Paper Sweeties sets!

Here is what I have for you today:

So... since I saw these new sets I knew I wanted to do an inside/outside view of the same scene... cool right? So I used the same wallpaper, except this time it's on the outside of the window and used some sky design paper I had laying around for my view through the window.  It had just a few clouds in it towards the top, but that's ok, because it's just that kind of day.

 The trickiest part was that kitty because I needed a view from the back.  If I had the sweet cuts, I'd have used a die cut and flipped it around, but for some unknown reason (on the list), I did not have those yet, so I took the stamp from the Sweeties Pets set and stamped the back of it ever so lightly with some champagne colored ink and cut it out.  Then I proceeded to color her in to match the front of her.  And that banner from the Wagon Add On Bloom & Grow!  So sweet!

Oh look!  We brought one of those pretty flowers from the I Pick You set and brought it inside and put it in one of our pretty seaglass bottles we had laying around! The bottle is from the Planner Series Appointments set.  And of course my birdies are outside the window now...

Just love these flowers from the I Pick You set and I cut the leaves using my Hello Spring Sweet Cuts.  Can you tell I love that Creamsicle Seam Binding and the Sugar Sprinkles are my favorite sequins... kind of clear.. but also a bit irridescent... they are beautiful additions to any piece!

Now it's time for you to head on out and see what everyone else has in store for you:

Beth Luetschwager
Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Jeri Thomas

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett
Lilian Forsyth  **WELCOME to the team!**
Lisa Bzibziak  (You are Here!)
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michele Henderson
Michelle Bala

Nancy Salkeld

Here are links to the Paper Sweeties Products I used today:

Sweeties Pets - Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	I Pick You Stamp Set--Paper Sweeties	Wagon Add-On: Bloom & Grow - Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	Tree of Life Add-On: Spring Stamp Set--Paper Sweeties	Planner Series: Appointments - Paper Sweeties
Hello Spring Sweet Cuts - Paper Sweeties	Creamsicle Seam Binding - Paper Sweeties	Paper Sweeties - Sugar Sprinkles Sequins

And remember!!  $100 gift certificate up for grabs to the winner of the August Inspiration Challenge... I mean what's not to inspire you in this photo??  Go for it!