Stamp Simply -- Mostly White

TGIF! Friday means it's time to Stamp Simply (ssnotime46)! This week's challenge is to create a white on white look with a touch of pastel. If you want the official details... click HERE to travel over to Sharon's blog!

I have a confession to make about this card. It's pretty bad. Since us SS gals post the night before the challenge, it was about 7:30 PM and I hadn't even thought about what I wanted to do for the challenge. I had, but nothing really came to me. Since I have been working a lot, I didn't want to spend the night stamping instead of hanging with my hubby. So, when he said he had to run to the store, I told him I had to get some things done around the house and it might be quicker if he just went on his own. So, I dreamt this card up, made it and photographed it in the time it took him to go to Walmart! Man, am I bad or what? It was less than a half hour. Talk about speed stamping!
Since the challenge was white on white, I knew I wanted to bring some texture to my card with a CB embossing folder. I cut a piece of white 3" by 4-1/4" and that was the lower part of my card. I used a strip of paper pierced pearl paper to break up the top part of the white and the embossed part. On the upper level, I stamped a bunch of tulips from the Stamp Simply Thank You set from Flourishes. I embossed them in white and then colored them in using a Q-tip and chalks. Add some sheer and sheer polka dot pink ribbon, add a pearl to make the ribbon pop-- and you're done!

Need some extra inspiration? Be sure to check out the rest of the Stamp Simply team! Can't wait to see what you cook up!

Janine Jennifer Tammy Dee Becky

I MADE IT! I MADE IT!!!!!

Ok, put down everything in your hands! Do you have comfy shoes on? If not, ditch the shoes. Now jump up and down with me! Wow... isn't this fun!!! Why are we jumping?? OH! I should tell you! I made it to the top 5 of the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol competition!!! YIIIIIIPPPPEEE! I am seriously in disbelief. WOW!!!!! Pinch me. Wait, if you're still jumping, don't pinch me yet. Ok, now you can pinch me!!!

Thank you so much for being my cheerleaders, I've felt your "go get 'em" comments and I even felt a few {hugs!} So, thanks guys! YOU ROCK! So, my next challenge is to create a card with a silhouette by Monday at nine mountain standard! I'll fill you in on Monday on how to get to the gallery!

Whew. That felt good. Thanks for sharing this moment with me! ;-)

No cards to share today!

Well folks-- nothing to share today! I have been so busy entertaining kids and working - no time to stamp this week! I did want to say - the voting for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol closes today at noon. If you haven't voted and want to check my card out - I would be grateful! This is the semi-finals so to speak so I am crossing everything I have that I make it!!!

You can check out the link HERE and, just like here, I am "outtoimpress!"

Thanks! I'll be back tomorrow with Sharon's fabulous Stamp Simply challenge!!
See you then!



EDITED TO ADD: Head on over to my mom's site click HERE she's giving away some pretty cool blog candy. You won't want to miss it!!! She's giving away the "Rejoice" Christmas set from Flourishes, some paper, ribbon and monoadhesive plus anything else she decides to throw in!

Christmas in July Sale-- ending soon!

Hi all! Just a note that tomorrow is the last day of the Christmas in July sale over at Flourishes! All of their Christmas sets are discounted. No codes needed, the prices are already adjusted!

Well, to get in the Christmas spirit early, I decided to do an "inspired by" card! I went to an event recently and in the goodie bag was this little tin of mints. I loved the flourish, the silver and black contrast and the pop of another color. Here's a look at the tin....

And, here's a look at the card it inspired! I used the Damask backgrounder from Flourishes. This is my favorite stamp. When you need a quick and elegant background, this stamp is your "go to" stamp! I embossed it with silver embossing powder on black. I also embossed the reindeer as well. This guy is from the Flourished Christmas Set. I added some red satin ribbon, layered up the pieces, added a rhinestone to the nose, colored in the reindeer's eye and added a white "sparkle" in the eye with my Inksentials white pen and I was done! Super duper easy!

Some of the other DT members have a bit of Christmas inspiration on their blogs today too! Check out Faith, Leslie, Susan, Sharon D. and Linda!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Fall Leaves

I know it must seem a bit harsh to think about fall leaves now. I mean, are you ready for that at all? Not me! Seems like the summer just got started! This leaf stamp and saying is one of the newly released stamps from Impression Obsession! I love the swirls in the image and the solid stamp makes coloring the changing leaf fun! I just thumped a few different ink colors on each leaf to bring out different shades ! Then, when I put my card together, I went from light to dark to make it look like the progression of color.

Here's a close up!

Putting the card together was a piece of cake. I used my Nesties for the circles, my ticket corner punch for the corners on my piece of patterned paper cut out my leaves, added the saying - "To Everything There Is A Season..."and done! The embellies in the punched corners are hot fix nail heads (Kandi Kane)

Speaking of Impression Obsession, they have a brand new Guest Designer opportunity! Here are the details!

IMPRESSION OBSESSION GUEST DESIGNER CALL

How would you like to be a guest designer for one of the nation's largest rubber stamp companies? Impression Obsession is looking someone to put a creative spin on the great rubber and clear stamps that you know and love. We have more than 2,000 images in production at any given time and these images can be found at hundreds of stamp stores not only in the U.S. andCanada but six other countries worldwide!The guest designer position would be a three month commitment to help us with samples not only for our supplements and trade show displays but for our web gallery as well. Our store owners rely on the design team's creativity to seejust how many ways you can use I.O. stamps! If accepted, you will receive a handful of I.O. new releases to play with and create!

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Since our Senior Design Team uploads digital images to our gallery, we would hope you would be proficient in photo editing and be able to display your cards in an eye-pleasing way. Ninety-nine percent of the time, we use the artists images for our catalog and web gallery.

2. You would be required to make a minimum of 4 projects per month and display them on your gallery or blog giving credit to Impression Obsession.

3. Impression Obsession would have access to these designs for use on our web site, in our online gallery, for advertising, and in our electronic newsletter. We'll be sure to give you credit!

TO APPLY

Please send four examples of your best work to us at ioguestdesigner@gmail.com by August 30th. Don't forget to include a little bit about yourself, your name, address, phone number, email address, past design team work,when and where you've been published and blog or gallery address as well. Please note: Past work is not a requirement for a position with I.O. We are simply looking for talented designers. If you've never been on a team before or have never been published - that's Ok!.

Thanks for stopping by!!

p.s. Voting for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest is still underway until Thursday at Noon MST. If you haven't voted! I'd love it if you checked out my card! I'm "outtoimpress" on the gallery! Click HERE to see all the cards. That page also has instructions on how to cast your vote!! Thanks guys!

Quotables.....

Well folks, the voting is up for the PC Gallery Idol contest and the entries are nothing short of amazing. Seriously. Everyone did a bang up job!! Everyone got really creative with color and shape!

The challenge was to use a quote on your card. Thanks to Viv Peters, I was able to use Santa and a holiday quote as my focal point! She sent me some lovely Cotton Scraps from Crafty Secrets a few weeks back!

This was MY card! I used the Santa in the Cotton Scraps and trimmed him down to eliminate the saying. I kind of weaved around when I sewed around the edge to give it a little interest and then I started to unravel the edges. Add some pearls in the corner, add a saying and distress the edges, add a loopy brad with satin ivory ribbon and a pearl and you're almost done! The strip of paper that separates the two patterned paper pieces on my card was sewn on as well. DONE!
Here's a close up of the Santa and saying! The saying is from Impression Obsession!
Hope you enjoy! If you want to vote.... click HERE and in the fourth paragraph at the top there is a link to the ballot. After you check the circle and hit done--- You're done! I am "Out To Impress" on the ballot!

Thanks for the votes and support! You guys rock!

A Sketch Challenge For YOU!

Just wanted to give you all a heads up! I have a fun challenge going in the Gina K. Forum! Want to speed stamp? All you need to do is use my sketch and make a creation by tomorrow Monday, July 28th at noon central time. The challenge is super duper easy! The fun thing about this challenge is -- the winner is chosen out of a hat! It's kind of like a stamping lottery! If you win, you walk away with a Gina K Designs set valued at 18.95 or or less!

Here's my creation.... It's made with the new 1 Free with 3 set from Gina K. Designs. You order three sets and you get this one free!


Here's a close up of the card! I just colored the cherries with watercolor pencils and added some pizazz with some Crystal Lacquer on the cherries to make them pop! Can't really see all that well. Trust me, it's kind of cool IRL! And here's the "official" sketch!! :-)

Once you're done, simply upload to SCS using the keyword: JULYGKDJK

Happy Sunday! Off to enjoy some family time!

News, BFFs And A Tag!

YIPPEE SKIPPY! I just got the news yesterday that I made it to the top ten of the Papercrafts Gallery Idol contest! Can't honestly believe it. I am super excited though. The next challenge is to make a card with a quote as its focus. So, I thought - "I don't really have any quotes!" What am I going to do? So, I say - I'll just go down and check to see if I have even one quote stamp. I have 13. Can you believe a girl doesn't even really know what she has??!?? I told my younger brother about the challenge and you know what he said? "I got one for you - you could quote Winston Churchill." I said, "What's the quote?" "I may be drunk, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." HAHAHAHAHA! I still haven't checked to see if Winston Churchill actually said that. Brothers. I tell ya! Anyway, the cards will be up Monday so check back then about links and how to vote!! Thanks to all of you who have supported me!! YOU ROCK!


I got a fun award this week that I plan to pass on!! Paylin passed this on! How fun! I'm honored!! BTW, you should check out Paylin's site. She is amazingly talented when it comes to using punches creatively! Back to the award--- I hand this on to Deb, Diane, Jennifer, Barb, Janine, and MOM! And....Renee tagged me! I have to find 7 things to share that you might not know. Well I have had this tag before so finding something new might be really, really tough! But, I'll try! Meantime, I'll try not to bore you! Some of these my be repetitive because let's face it -- my life is only so interesting! LOL!

1. One of my "trips of a lifetime" was to L.A. to see the Grammy Awards. I was on the red carpet reporting for the CBS affiliate that I worked for at the time. Blue man group crashed my liveshot and made freaky faces at me!
2. My dad was an amateur race car driver -- thus my love for fast cars. It's genetic. It has to be!
3. I have a '77 Corvette that is a work in progress.
4. I'm afraid of heights.
5. My favorite color is red.
6. I could eat pizza every day of the week - veggie, barbeque chicken, regular - any flavor - just love it!
7. I've never traveled outside of North America.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people but why don't we just do this -- Wanna play? Just leave me a comment! I'd love to read your answers!

Ok... well now that your officially asleep from all that - hope you have a great Saturday! I'll be back tomorrow!

Stamp Simply -- Christmas In July!!

Hi all! Time for a frosty Friday Stamp Simply Challenge!! The temperature may say summer, but this challenge is all about Christmas! It's never too early to start those Christmas cards -- is it!?! You can check out Sharon's blog for all the official details!

My card really couldn't get any "simpler!" The snowman, snowflake and saying are all brand new just released at CHA stamps from Impression Obsession. Aren't they cute? I stamped them on white, colored the snowman and then used a 1-1/4" circle punch to punch them out. I used my Spellbinders circle Nestabilities to make the larger circle out of silver paper. I matted them up, added some bling to the snowflakes and was done with that part! I corner rounded two edges of my distressed blue strip and matted it on a piece of silver that also had some rounded corners. I used my slot punch (SU!) to create the slit for my sheer blue ribbon and silver embroidery thread. Tie the ribbon in a knot, add a sentiment in black ink and done! This could easily be a ten minute card!

Here's a close up to show how cute that little snow guy is! I am a sucker for snow men!!!

Want to see the other new IO stamps fresh for the taking?!?! Click HERE! Meantime, if you want a little more inspiration for this week's challenge-- check out:

Janine, Jennifer, Dee, and Tammy!

Happy Friday You All!!

Christmas In July!

What a better time to get ready for holiday stamping than when you have all the time in the world and it's 90 degrees out! I actually try to stamp most of my cards in the summer. When school hits - life becomes chaotic and it only gets harder to find the time to stamp cards for Christmas. Do you KWIM?

The good news--- I have the details on a great sale! Flourishes is celebrating Christmas in July! What does that mean for you-- 15% off all Christmas sets -- no codes needed! The sale price will automatically ring up when you place your order! The sale will run from Wed the 23rd through Wed the 31st.

To give you a little inspiration, the Flourishes DT all made Christmas cards to get those creative juices flowing. Mine is super duper easy! I used the set Rejoice.

I simply stamped the angel on a piece of steel blue card stock using Versamark ink. Then, using a soft brush, I brushed on some Pure Mica pearl powder. I love the sheen it gives - especially when the light hits it! You can barely see it, but this set comes with a square that has stars in it. I stamped that all over my base card using Denim blue Adirondack ink. The sentiment, "Alleluia," is also stamped in Denim ink. I matted my angel piece on silver cardstock. Add some Steele blue sheer ribbon and a smidge of silver embroidery thread and that's it! This is a super easy one to mass produce if you wanted to! I think it's going to be my card for 2008!

Here's a close up of the angel so you can see the shimmer! TIP: After you brush on the mica powder, take a Swiffer dry cloth or duster and rub it over your image. This "burnishes" the powder into the Versamark ink and gets rid of the extra powder. Keep in mind - you WILL be covered in sparkle regardless!! LOL!

For more Christmas card ideas, check out:

Leslie, Linda, Faith, and Sharon

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow!

p.s. PC Gallery Idol contest ends Thursday at noon! If you haven't voted -- I'd love your vote!
Click HERE to vote for my card (I'm Out To Impress). Click HERE to see the gallery. Hope you like the card I made!

The Count Down Is On!

This Thursday- Gina K and her talented team of illustrators will unveil a handful of new sets perfect for summer stamping! Since the count down is on.... that means it's time for a bunch of sneak peaks!!

I was honored to be able to use this first set that Gina is giving you all a peak at. It's Asela Hopkin's new set called Flowers for Daisy. The wonderful thing about this set is not just the beautiful images, thoughtful sayings and Bible verses but the fact that for a limited time, a portion of the sales of this set will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of Asela's friend Daisy who is fighting a courageous battle with cancer. Doesn't that make dipping into your stamping budget a whole lot easier?

Since I wanted the daisy to pop, I wanted to make sure my overall card layout was really pretty simple. So, I added a scallop border, edged it with some darker green paper, added some 3/4" green grosgrain ribbon, stamped my saying and that part was done. I stamped the daisy on a 2-1/2 by 3" piece of white cardstock, used my ticket corner punch on two corners and then started to color. I edged only one side of my daisy with a very light blue Tombow marker. I used three shades of yellow Prismacolor pencils for the center of my daisy and then accented some of the petals with a slate blue. Since this was a bit dark at first, I went back over the petals with a white pencil to help blend the color and make it look more like subtle shading.

Here's a close up...
I matted my daisy piece onto a dark green cardstock piece, added two glazed brads (Basic Grey) and voila.... done!

Be sure to check out Gina's blog for all the release party details PLUS a sneak of her own! If you want to check out what some of the other DT members did check out:

Michelle Joanne Emily Asela

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here Wednesday! Hope you have a little Christmas spirit in you! :-)

p.s. Voting is still going on until Thursday at noon for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Contest! Click HERE to vote for my card. Click HERE to see the gallery. Hope you like the card I made!

Seeing Red!

Well folks, the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol is now officially in round two and the challenge this week was to make a monochromatic card! So... as the title suggests-- I am seeing red! I have red dp, red rhinestones, red ribbon, a red floral acetate overlay, a red rhinestone ribbon slide and red ink! The only stamping done on my card was the frame that is part of an Impresison Obsession Journaling I set and the word which is a part of the Word Frames clear set.

I admit, this card is a little out of my zone. Not my typical card but after fiddling and futzing, I decided to go with it! Hope you like!

Click HERE to see my card.

Click HERE to see the gallery

To vote, scoll down below my card and where it says Description- it says click here to vote for your favorite. Click on that link and a ballot should pop up with all the names of those in the top 15. I'm Out To Impress! Click on the dot next to the name - hit done and you've voted! Thanks so much for your support! It means the world to me!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wish me luck! Voting ends Thursday at noon Mountain Standard Time!!!

New Stamps From Impression Obsession!

Hi all! Happy Sunday! With CHA just winding down, I've been given the OK to share some of the brand spankin' new images from Impression Obsession! So... today... let the fun begin! FYI, these images will be on the I.O. site soon and in retail stores that carry I.O. sometime in August!
This card is one made from the new fall stamps designed by Leigh Hannan. Carmel apples? Soo cute! This card was kind of tedious but you know me, I love to paper piece!! So, all of the elements are paper pieced. The carmel, the chocolate, the sticks, the candy corn. Everything. I had a blast doing it and I love the vibrant color now that the card is done! This one was actually on display at CHA. Wish my card could talk and tell me about all the fun!! LOL! The sparkle you see is from my Copic Spica pens and the rhinestones are those teeny tiny 2mm rhinestones!

Here's a close up! I love that little saying that goes with this stamp!

Now... to more fun news!!! I made the cut for the top 15 for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest!! YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!! I seriously am off the charts excited and now am fine-tuning the card for tomorrow's gallery - the challenge was "monochromatic." Hhhhhhhm. That wasn't all that easy for me. My card is a little different than my typical style - so I hope you check it out and like it!

I'll post all the details here tomorrow at noon Mountain Standard Time when the voting starts!!

Well, my friends--- that's all she wrote! I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Stamp Simply 44-- Purple and Flowers

Hi All! Gosh, where did this week go? Seriously? Can it be the weekend already? Not that I am complaining - don't get me wrong. It just felt like this week whipped by at lightning speed!

With each and every Friday comes a brand new Stamp Simply challenge courtesy of the lovely Sharon Johnson! This week, the challenge is purple and flowers. BUT, your flowers don't have to be purple - you just have to have the color purple on your card with flowers! You can check out the details at Sharon's blog-- HERE! She is actually lucky enough to be at CHA right now - but she's still on top of it all!
My card is actually a card you could make in 10- minutes if you had to. All I did was cut out some 1-1/2" squares and then layered them onto squares I cut out with my scalloped square Nestabilities die (the one that is slightly smaller than a 2" square). I inked up the checkered lily from the Spring Ephemerals set from Flourishes and made sure to get different parts of the flower on each square. I used Sweet Plum and Bamboo Leaves Momento inks and I added some darker green accents with a dark green Tombow marker on the leaves. The paper is Basic Grey Euphoria and the ribbon is a lavender sheer. The saying, "smile," is from the Floral Fantasy set - also from Flourishes! After I matted all the pieces, I added some small self adhesive pearls just to give it a little more pop! This card base is actually from a set I bought from Hero Arts - the card measures 6 by 3 and comes with envelopes that remind me of the kind you get at the bank with the side flap. It's a pretty fun size to work with !

If you want more inspiration - check out what some of the other gals from the Stamp Simply team did! Dee bowed out this week because that lucky duck is at CHA!

Janine
Jennifer
Tammy

Have a fabulous weekend! Stop by again soon!

RAKs to share!

Oh my word - I was spoiled with lovely creations this week from some really talented folks in blog land!!! I can't even stand it! So, I thought I would share!

Viv Peters sent me this BEAUTIFUL card that she made with some Cotton Scraps from Crafty Secrets. She even sent me some fun holiday scraps to play with. Ok, first of all - off the charts thoughtful! Second, after you check out her card below, how could I possibly compete with that? It is gorgeous! I think I drooled on it!! :-) Click HERE to visit Viv's place!



My next show and tell is from the lovely Barb Schram. If you've never visited Barb's blog, you absolutely need to. Click HERE to check it out! I tell her all the time how stinkin' creative she is. Her creations make my jaw drop regularly! Not to mention, she's really funny and just a sweetie. It's been fun getting to know her since we are both on the Gina K. Guest DT. You can tell that by looking at her card! Isn't it too cute for words? She also sent THIS fun little gift for my kiddos! I tried to take a picture of it but it just didn't do it justice. Don't know why! So check it out on her blog! It's a fun idea for the little ones in your life -- especially in the summer! Thanks Barb!

The next creation came all the way north from Canada from my bud Diane! She not only made me a card but had matching accessories that came with the package. She nailed this one - it's not only beautiful - but she mentioned that she thought I would like it because I love the contrast of black and white in my cards. WOWZA! She's right! I love it! You can't tell in the picture, but she dabbed the centers of the flowers with liquid pearls. It just created such a lovely shimmer! The tin was even stuffed with some flower embellies and black rhinestones. Too cool!! Thanks Diane! You can visit Diane HERE!
And, last BUT NOT LEAST is a fun creation from my bud Janine! She was one of the first people I got to know here in blog land and I'm proud to call her a "sis" in our SBS5 group. She's got a fabulous eye for color and always creates cards with a unique flair. I'm actually not sure how to take this card though. A few months back she shared a story of how a number of years ago her house was overrun by lady bugs and it was so bad, she now hates ladybugs. What are you saying Janine?!?!? LOL! I still think it's a darling card!! :-) She also sent some fun clear stamps that I have already used! You can check out Janine's blog HERE!

Thanks so much ladies! You have no idea how much you brightened my day!! I'll be back late tonight with another Stamp Simply challenge! This one features one of my favorite colors!!

The Power Of Suggestion....

Hi all! Happy Wednesday! Do you want to know what I haven't used a lot--- but should pick up more? Clear cardstock! Sharon Johnson challenged me to use some of the new Flourishes sets with clear cardstock to come up with a card. Well, you know me. I have a bit of a competitive spirit - so, I said ,"sure!"

I thought the new Stamp Simply Thank You set would work wonderfully for a quick and easy clear cardstock card. The only tricky part of this card is first, cutting the tulip (which wasn't hard) and second, lining up your matting. So, stick with me. I'll show you how I did it all!


But first, a trick for you! If you've ever seen the ribbon that they carry in the Flourishes store, you know, you don't want to waste an inch of it! This might be an old trick, but I thought it was worth sharing - you never know who might benefit from sharing a tip or two!


First, I measured a piece of burgundy satin ribbon so that I have just enough to wrap around the piece I want to highlight with a tied knot.

After I adhere the ribbon to the back of my layer, I use the ribbon still on the roll and tie a knot on this piece.
This is the result! and you know what? I cut the ribbon off the roll and have ZERO waste! Yeah! More ribbon for me! LOL! The next trick is layering up my clear cardstock card. Well, this is fun. If you layer it up with enough pieces, you won't see an ounce of tape!

Here's a look at the card again. The front layer is actually the ivory piece matted on the red with the cut tulip on it. The inside front is the green decorative paper that I stuck to the inside by putting tape on the front of my dp.

Here's a look at the inside, so it makes more sense. On the right hand side, you are actually looking at the back of my green dp. On the inside left, is my ivory mat that I edged with a gold leaf pen and put on my "Thank You" sentiment.

And, below is the back - I layered this on the back to serve as another mat and to hide the tape on the back of the ivory piece. When you close it all up. All of the pieces are designed to layer up perfectly! Another tip? adhere your largest layer first. It is a lot easier to align this piece on your clear cardstock. Then, everything else can be matted to fit within the largest layer! Want to check out what some of the other Flourish DT was up to? Check out Leslie, Susan, Sharon, Faith, Linda, and Sharon D. for some more tips and tricks!

Thanks for all the nice comments and emails about the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol competition. The voting continues until Thursday at noon Mountain Standard Time. If you haven't voted yet - keep in mind, voting for this round changed a bit. Instead of using the "LOVE THIS" button to vote, you need to click on the card, and below the card it says - Description: Click here to vote for your favorite. Once you click that, a screen will pop up with all the contestant's names. Click the name with the little "check" and then vote! Not hard, just a few more steps! You can click HERE to vote! I'll find out Friday if I'm still standing! :-)

Framed Tulip

Hi all! The folks at Paper Crafts told those competiting that it would be ok to show the cards we did for the Gallery Idol competition here on our blogs --- so, away I go! This card is really rather simple! I created some frames with my oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities. Then, I took a small oval and made sure it was small enough to "float" in the center of the frames. I cut and embossed it and then left my die on as I sponged some antique linen Distress Ink to the center. I love this technique because of the soft frame and edge it gives your image! In the center I inked up the tulip in the Stamp Simply Thank You set from Flourishes. I used Momento Inks (just got them!) in Lady Bug, Sprout and Bamboo Leaves. Then, I went over the image with a damp water brush. I also stamped just the flower part of the image again, cut out a portion of it and secured it with a mini glue dot to give it a 3-D effect! The rest is pretty self explanatory - sew on the edges of a strip of decorative paper, mat up a chip board sentiment, add some self adhesive pearls and - DONE!

Here's a close up!

FYI - Voting ends Thursday at noon! If you haven't voted and want to--- click HERE. Keep in mind, voting for this round changed a bit. Instead of using the "LOVE THIS" button to vote, you need to click on the card, and below the card it says - Description: Click here to vote for your favorite. Once you click that, a screen will pop up with all the contestant's names. Click the name with the little "check" and then vote! Not hard, just a few more steps!

Hope you are having a good start to your week! I'll see ya back here tomorrow! It's a happy day in our house today -- my baby girl turns 5!!!!

p.s. I almost forgot! If you've ever been to Leslie Miller's blog Running With Scissors, you are probably like me - you drool at her watercolored flowers! Well, I happened to "interview" her on the Flourishes forum to find out how she does it! So, click HERE to check that out! She also had a tutorial Monday on her blog that is awesome!