Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with love and laughter!

Hugs,

TESC94 - Feeling that Gingerbread Feeling!

Howdy Stampers! I am playing along a little late on this week's fabulous Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge. I was dashing out the door too fast onto my WONDERFUL New York vacation that I missed scheduling my post. I just LOVE New York. It has always been my dream to visit New York since I was a child. I probably drove my family crazy with how many times I have mentioned it being my dream to visit New York. Now it has come true thanks to my loving husband. He really spoiled me with this trip and I will be back later with some pics for you. I am happy to share with you this card for TESC94. This was a great sketch to use the new gingerbread stamps I bought from Two Scoops Rice Designs. I think they are just adorable.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Please be sure to visit the rest of the Sketch Crew to see all of their lovely creations:
Alice Wertz
Jami Sibley
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Mercurio
Melissa Sauls
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
and Taylor!!!!

Thanks for visiting!!!

TESC93 - Sweet Holiday Wishes!

Happy Friday! The weeks are flying by and Christmas is getting so close. I am just thrilled with today's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! Just another fabulous reason to make another Christmas card. I decided on making a 4 bar size card for TESC93. These adorable A Muse images just fit so perfectly with that size. I really wanted the card to be festive and fun, so I used the Jolly by Golly paper collection by Cosmo Cricket.


So are you all ready for the holidays? I am doing really good on the Christmas card front. We also got our tree last weekend and it smells so wonderful! I really love having a fresh tree. It's just such a nice treat. Let me know what you are up to and be sure to visit the sketch crew to see their fab creations:

Alice Wertz
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Mercurio
Melissa Sauls
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
and Taylor!!!!

Thanks for visiting and Have a wonderful weekend!!!

My Cute Stamps: Merry Wishes!

Hello Friends! It has been a whirlwind weekend and I am happy to report I got lots of my Christmas shopping done early. I still have more to do, but I am looking forward to a relaxing Christmas this year. I am still recovering from Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but I was able to relax and make my cards for My Cute Stamps Weekend. This is the final month of my Design Team term and I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity Holly has given me. Thanks Holly! I had a blast! I decided to feature the amazing new My Cute Stamps set called Merry Wishes. All the images in this set are adorable and a joy to paper piece. All three cards are using both images and sentiments from the Merry Wishes set. All the patterned paper used is from the 'Tis the Season line from Bo Bunny.

I love adding all the buttons on to this cute tree! The tree image just matched that patterned paper so perfectly :)

I played along with the SFYTT sketch challenge on this card. It was great to use lots of the different papers from the 'Tis the Season collection.

This little wreath is so darling! It would be perfect for making tags too!

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! Thanks so much for visiting me!
Hugs,

Happy Black Friday!!!!

Well I am off to shop, but wanted to pop in to tell you all about the big Taylored Expressions Black Friday Sale!

EVERYTHING at the TE Store is 15% off through Monday, November 30th with coupon code TEBlackFriday!!

Taylor's got some fabulous deals on top of the discounted price. I just got some JustRite stamps that I have been dying to get at 50% off! So head on over to Taylored Expressions and Have a Wonderful Shopping Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Hello Friends! Just wanted to wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope your day is filled with love and laughter. I am very thankful for having such a wonderful family and friends. Thank you all for stopping by and visiting me. I truly cherish all your sweet comments and friendship. Have a wonderful day!!!!

Hugs,

TESC92 - Season's Sweetings

Hello Friends! It's Friday and time for another fabulous sketch challenge from Taylored Expressions. Can you believe it is going to be Thanksgiving next week? Just crazy! What happened this year? It just flew by and I don't even remember summer. LOL! Well in keeping with this year flying by I decided to make another Christmas card for this week's TESC92. Because Christmas will be here before we know it too. I of course had to stick with my beloved Gingerbread. The MerryMint Collection from American Crafts is so sweet. I thought this sketch was perfect to show lots of the different papers from the collection. I topped it off with the Season's Sweetings sentiment from Taylored Expressions.


Come join the fun and play along with us! Please be sure to visit the rest of the TE Sketch Crew to see their wonderful creations:

Alice Wertz
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Mercurio
Melissa Sauls
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
and Taylor!!!!

Thanks for visiting and Have a wonderful weekend!!!

TESC91 - Happy Birthday Moof!

Happy Friday the 13th! It's time for another fabulous Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! I loved this week's sketch TESC91 because the card I made was for my dear friend Martha a.k.a. Moof. We will be celebrating her special day at our monthly group stamping meeting tomorrow. Moof loves pink, so I used lots of it with these pretty papers from October Afternoon. Moof and I also share a love of cupcakes. She likes to bake them and I like to eat them. LOL! So you know I just had to use Cuppie for this card. Cuppie is just too cute to resist!

Come join the fun and play along with us! Please be sure to visit the rest of the TE Sketch Crew to see their fabulous creations:

Alice Wertz
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Mercurio
Melissa Sauls
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
and Taylor!!!!

Thanks for visiting and Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Doctor's Orders & Sweet Celebration (Stamp a Sweet Impression)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers
Paper: White & Kraft CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (October Afternoon & Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Circle Nesties. Pink Ribbon, Button (PTI), White Gel Pen & Piercing Tools (SU!) and 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation)

Creative Cuts & More Blog - Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Album Kit

Welcome Friends! It's Day 2 of the Creative Cuts & More Blog Hop. WOW! The Day 1 Designers creations were just amazing! It's wonderful to see how many different designs you can get from one kit. Well, the Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Album Kit is just as fabulous. It was so easy and fun to put this recipe album together. The die cut aprons in both the patterned paper and chipboard make it a breeze. I really love this kit! It is loaded with so much wonderful product. You can easily make several cards in addition to the Apron Album. I was thrilled when I received my kit and I am happy to feature it today.


We have 24 designers today showcasing this fabulous kit. Be sure to get the full experience by starting off the hop at www.diecutdiva.com and as part of the celebration Creative Cuts & More will be having a fabulous sale. For the next six days, Creative Cuts & More will be offering 20% off the ENTIRE store. Be sure to act quickly as the sale will end on Nov. 14th. Enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout to receive your discount. The celebration doesn't end there! Creative Cuts & More will also be giving you a chance to win one of these wonderful kits. Each day there will be one kit given away. Simply hop around and leave sweet comments for the featured designers. After you have finished the blog hop, return to www.diecutdiva.com and instead of leaving a comment, you will need to share a recipe to have a chance at winning the kit.



The album base was quickly created using the kit's apron die cut patterned paper and chipboard. I added a cute gingerbread die cut from the kit to the top of the apron to accent the album title. I punched out tags from the kit's patterned paper for pockets. I also added my own embellishments (not included in the kit) to finish off the album cover:
Red Ruffle Ribbon (Bazzill), Red Dot Ribbon (Bo Bunny), Pink Brads (Bazzill), Red Ric Rac Stickers (Stampendous), Oval & Tag Punches (SU!), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation), White Gel Pen and Stardust Stickles


The recipe page was created using one of my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes. I was lucky enough to take a Doodling Class with the amazingly talented Stephanie Ackerman last year. She made these cookies for the class and I gobbled mine up. LOL! They were delicious! I just LOVE Chocolate Chip Cookies! They are great for the holidays and basically everyday. She was so sweet to give us a copy of her recipe with her super cute design. You too can get the same recipe copy here at her website. I loved decorating these aprons and I of course wanted to use some more cute die cuts, so I added a gingerbread cookie and wooden spoon. I also added my own embellishments (not included in the kit) to finish off the recipe page: Pink Gems (Doodlebug Design), Brown & Hot Pink Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny), Chocolate Chip Cookies Stamp (Hero Arts), Chocolate Chip Ink (SU!), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation), Christmas Red Stickles and Red Polka Dot Ribbon (A Muse)


Thanks for visiting! Now hop on over to see the fabulous creations by Deb Felts!

Creative Cuts & More - Our Favorite Recipes Blog Hop

Welcome Friends! I am so excited about the Creative Cuts & More - Our Favorite Recipes Blog Hop. Today and Tomorrow will feature 24 designers on each day showcasing the latest kits from Creative Cuts & More along with some of their favorite recipes. These kits are loaded with goodies from amazing die cuts, papers and accessories. I was completely floored when I received my kit! Simply amazing products! Be sure to get the full experience by starting off the hop at www.diecutdiva.com and as part of the celebration Creative Cuts & More will be having a fabulous sale. For the next six days, CC& M will be offering 20% off the ENTIRE store. Be sure to act quickly as the sale will end on Nov. 14th. Enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout to receive your discount. The celebration doesn't end there! Creative Cuts & More will also be giving you a chance to win one of these wonderful kits. Each day there will be one kit given away. Simply hop around and leave sweet comments for the featured designers. After you have finished the blog hop, return to www.diecutdiva.com and instead of leaving a comment, you will need to share a recipe to have a chance at winning the kit. Here's one of my favorite cookie recipes by Hershey's:

Secret Kisses Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds
36 Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolate
Powdered Sugar

1. Beat butter, granulated sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed in large bowl until fluffy. Add flour and walnuts; beat on low speed of mixer until well blended. Cover; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until dough is firm enough to handle.

2. Remove wrappers from chocolates. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Using about 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie, shape dough around each chocolate; roll in hand to make ball. (Be sure to cover each chocolate piece completely.) Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set but not browned. Cool slightly; remove to wire rack. While still slightly warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Roll again in powdered sugar just before serving.

Yummy!!!! Ok, go have some fun and hop around! Be sure to visit me tomorrow as I will be showcasing the Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Kit. Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

A Muse Lounge Challenge #10 - Tag, You're It!

Well the holidays are rapidly approaching, so I am happy to be playing along with the current A Muse Lounge Challenge. You guessed it - It's Tags! A Muse images are the perfect size for tags and I adore these cute images. I am addicted to paper piecing lately, so the tree tag was my fav. I stocked up on the new A Muse holiday images in July, so I will be using them for my next round of tags. Hope you all have a fabulous Saturday! I am supposed to be cleaning house ... you know how that goes. LOL!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: MB Hippy Snowchick, Missy's Holiday Set, MB Tree Duo, MB Twin Cupcakes and Sweet Holiday Wishes (A Muse)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copics
Paper: White CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny & Bazzill)
Accessories: Tag Punch (Creative Memories), Ribbon (Michaels), Buttons (PTI) and Stardust Stickles

Digi Gingy!!!

Here's a little something for all my fellow Gingy lovers! Can you believe it? A new Super Cute Digi Kit at Sweet Shoppe Designs called Santa's Bake Shoppe! It is on sale for 30% off TODAY ONLY! Ok you will need to sit down for this one! There is a special bundle package for this kit which includes the kit shown below plus 4 pre-designed photo cards and a special bonus sheet of pre-designed tags. OH MY GOODNESS! I just got it and it was well worth the whole $6.29 (regularly $10.48). What a steal! Love it! Plus you will also receive a free digital kit with any purchase, but remember it is for today only!

TESC90 - Sweetest Holiday Wishes

Hola Amigas! Woo Hoo! It's Friday and time for another great sketch from Taylored Expressions. This week's sketch TESC90 worked out perfectly for the PTI Gingerbread. He is so cute! I love how the VersaMagic ink in Gingerbread made the image come out so crisp. Amazing color! I really wanted the additional colors to be bright and sweet and I finally got my hands on some Doodlebug Christmas Candy. I basically bought out my LSS. LOL! I added some sparkle with Stardust Stickles around the pink circle layer and on top of the pink brads. Just had a blast making this card! Hope you all play along and be sure to visit the rest of the Sketch Crew to see their wonderful creations: Alice, Jackie, Jami, Lisa, Lynn, Melissa, Monika, Sherrie and Taylor!


Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: VersaMagic Gingerbread and Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Paper: White CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny & Doodlebug Design)
Accessories: Marvy Mega Circle Punch, Pink Brads (Bazzill), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation), Pure Poppy Buttons (PTI), Piercing Tools & White Gel Pen (SU!) and Stardust Stickles

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! I have no tricks, just treats!!! My Cute Stamps has just released 5 new stamp sets. I loved this adorable Gumballs set and ordered it up right away. I paired it up with the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Birthday Numbers Set for my final birthday card for my My Cute Stamps weekend. I needed to spread out the weekend through the month, due to all the October birthdays I was celebrating. In November I will be sharing lots of My Cute Stamps creations weekly to celebrate my final month on the Design Team. It will be filled with lots of cards and tags from the new Merry Wishes set. Hope you are loving the new sets as much as I am. So excited to start working with them. Thanks for visiting!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Gumballs and Birthday Numbers (My Cute Stamps)
Paper: White CS (PTI), Pink & Blue CS (Easter Key Ingredients - TE) and Patterned Paper (Bazzill & Imaginisce)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black and Copic Markers
Accessories: Ribbon (A Muse), Brads (Easter Key Ingredients - TE), Paper Piercer (SU!), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation) and Stardust Stickles

TESC89 - Happy Birthday to MY SUPERMAN!

Happy Birthday Mikey! I am so excited to spend the day with you at Disneyland. Yes, it's another round of Disneyland for me. This time just my hubby and me celebrating his special day. My husband spoils me so much, so I love going all out for his birthday! He is finally going to have a Pineapple Dole Whip. It's the best frozen treat ever!!! Ok I am going to have one too. Hee Hee! My buddy at work also told me today that there is a free Iphone App that gives you the wait times for each ride at Disneyland. Yup, there's an app for that! LOL! Just added it and can't wait to test it out today. Well since my hubby is such a Superman, I thought that the Superman Cuppie from the Taylored Expressions Trick or Sweet II set was just perfect for his card. So what goes super with Superman Cuppie? This week's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge of course! I used the background panels in TESC89 to create a couple of red capes and added lots of stars to add some fun! Hope you all can play along! Don't forget that with each challenge Taylor is looking for her Top Crops to be featured on her blog. Can't wait to see your creations! Hope you all have a SUPER day and please be sure to visit the rest of the sketch crew to see their creations: Alice, Jackie, Jami, Lisa, Lynn, Melissa, Monika, Sherrie and Taylor!


Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Trick or Sweet II and Sweet Celebration (SASI)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers
Paper: Pure Poppy & White CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Circle Punches (SU!), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation) and Small Star Punch (Fiskars)

TESC88 = It's Official!

Happy Friday! Today is my first official day as a new member of the TESC Sketch Crew. I am so happy to be part of this team. I love Taylor's sketches and today's sketch is so fun! For TESC88 I got to ink up the new Taylored Expressions set Wings of Joy. This set is so adorable and filled with lots of cute birds. I paired up the image with some more Making Memories patterned paper. The red foil holly berries on this paper are so pretty. I also added some Christmas Red Stickles to the holly berries and heart on the images for sparkle.

Hope you can all play along!! Have a Fabulous Friday and please be sure to visit the rest of the sketch crew to see their creations: Alice, Jackie, Jami, Lisa, Lynn, Melissa, Monika, Sherrie and Taylor!

Happy Birthday BFF!

Happy Burfday Pilar! It's your burfday! Well today is gonna be a blast con pumpkin pancakes y todo! Pilar and I are off to celebrate her birthday OC Style at Disneyland!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Can't wait to see the park all decorated for Halloween. First stop is IHOP for pumpkin pancakes and then onto Disneyland for FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Today's card is of course her Bday card! She loves skulls and stars. I paired up the Happy Owl-oween set and Birthday Numbers from My Cute Stamps to make her punker birthday card. I added some Stardust Stickles to the bones for some sparkle. Well I am off to the Happiest Place on Earth! Thanks for visiting and Have a Happy Day!

TESC86 - Happy Halloween!

Hello! I am at it again with another card for the TE Sketch Challenge #86. This time I wanted to make a Halloween card, as it is rapidly approaching. I have been wanting this Anna Wight cling set for a year and I finally got it. I wanted to use it right away, so I inked up the spider image today. I paired it up with the Happy Halloween sentiment by Stampendous. I love Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, so I added a bunch of purple ones for some sparkle. I hope to do one more card before the challenge ends Friday morning. Hope you all get a chance to play along too. Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Spooky Expressions (Whipper Snapper/AnnaWight) and Stampendous
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Black CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Oval Punches & White Gel Pen (SU!), Taylor's Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions), 7/8" circle punch (EK Success), MS Spider Web Border Punch, 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation) and Stardust Stickles

TESC86 - Merry Christmas!

Hello Friends! I dusted off my Paper Salon stamps for this additional TESC86 card. I kept thinking of a fireplace mantle when I flipped the sketch over, so here it is. I love the A Muse woodgrain paper on it. Hope you like it and thanks for visiting! Have a great day!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Paper Salon
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Chocolate Chip (SU!) and Copic Markers
Paper: White CS & Dark Chocolate CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bazzill, Bo Bunny & A Muse)
Accessories: Oval Punch (SU!), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation), White Brads, Felt Flower (Hero Arts) and Stardust Stickles

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day! I am lucky enough to have today off to celebrate. So let's celebrate with a celebration card. I made this card for my buddy Kerry. She is just a doll! I used A Muse stamps from the Mandy's World Collection since we both love A Muse. I paired it up with some Bo Bunny Argyle paper to match the sweater. This stamp was wonderful to work with and the coloring was so fun. I love adding polka dots with my colorless blender. Well I am off to celebrate my day off and hope you all have a fabulous Monday and thanks for visiting!
Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: MW Balloon Girl & Happy Birthday to you (A Muse)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Chocolate Chip (SU!) and Copic Markers
Paper: White CS & Kraft CS (PTI) and Patterned Paper (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Ribbon and 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation)

Very Merry!

Happy Sunday! It's such a beautiful day outside, so I am off to visit the parents & brother. We are currently addicted to eating Sunflower seeds, so I will need to stop by the store and pick up some bags. We sound like a bunch of parrots. I will keep cracking away until my lips are white. Yes, it's that serious! I love salt! Well onto today's card, I couldn't find my parrot stamps to go along with the theme but I do have one of my fav owl stamps. When I saw this beautiful foil accented paper by Making Memories I thought it would be perfect for this stamp. These owls are so cute and it was fun paper piecing a couple of their scarves. Well I better get going, so have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for the visit!

Rachel's Recipe:
Stamps: Three Owls (Hero Arts), Home Sweet Home (SASI) and Best Yet (SU!)
Paper: White CS & Kraft CS (PTI), Chocolate Chip & Old Olive (SU!) and Patterned Paper (Making Memories & Bazzill)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive & Real Red (SU!) and Fresh Snow (PTI)
Accessories: Oval Punches & White Gel Pen (SU!), Ribbon (Paper Source), Mini Scallop Border Punch (EK Success), 3D Foam Tape (Best Creation), Red Brads and Christmas Red Stickles