Simple Things

Hello Friends! I'm finally getting back into the swing of things... I know it has been a while since we've last "chatted." I've been able to squeeze in a bit of card making here and there, but I haven't had much time to tell you how things are going around these parts. :)

I've been longing to pop on here and reflect a bit my blog goals. But to be completely honest, I haven't had much time to think about it! So here I am with a reflection (and update) on my blog goals.

Last year, I wanted to Blog More. Success! In 2010, I averaged 16 posts a month. In 2011, I averaged 23 posts! And some months, I was even able to post daily - Wow! It's very clear that I work on a school schedule and that my busy months are at the beginning and end of the school year, with May/June and September/October being the months where I seemed to disappear a bit. :) Apparently this year hasn't started off too well with blogging... It's been crazy here, but I think things are starting to settle... I hope!

Last year I tried to Get Personal. And boy was this hard! I used to be scared to share details of my life, but I've been showered with nothing but kindess from all of you. THANK YOU! :) It's still hard for me to tell you about my life - mostly because my guess is that you probably don't care. Haha. So clearly, this is something I need to continue working on...

Another goal was to Challenge Myself. I told you that color and sketch challenges were not my forte. This is still very true. I'm "forced" to continue working on this with the new changes at Pals Paper Arts. Honestly, when I got accepted onto the design team, I was a little bit nervous about the fact that I'd HAVE to participate in these other types of challenges. But really, I'm thrilled to be a part of the team and to be pushed this way.

I was also wanting to Inspire Myself. But I've decided this one is not that important. The way I see it, the challenges that I play are what inspire me and if that's the way I inspire myself, then that works for me. Plus I'm hoping that the I {Heart} Ribbon challenge will continue to be another way I can inspire myself and others. :)

My last goal was to Find a Home for all my cards. Still working on that... :) But I have been better about mailing out my cards and I hope that continues.

So there's a recap of my goals. I've decided it makes sense to keep them as they are since I'm still working on many of them. And now, time for today's card...



Jay Gee's Nook always has the best challenges! I couldn't wait to play along with this one! There is so much that you can pull from the inspiration below:

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with the Lattice die cut from Stampin' Up!, which I adhered onto Whisper White card stock and matted with Crumb Cake card stock. I placed some strips of So Saffron DSP before attaching my die cut. Then I added a bunch of fun embellishments - a book print heart (from the Hearts dies), a die cut tag (from Lots of Tags) stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Touch of Kindness, some punched leaves (from the SU! Bird punch), some Victoria Lace, a stamped bird cage from SU!'s Aviary (embellished with a piece of brown ribbon and a Rhinestone Jewel), and a layered butterfly (from the MS butterfly punch). I'm loving all those little goodies piled on top of each other. What do you think?

Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge

Hello there! It's time for another wonderful Pals Paper Arts Challenge! This time, we have a fun sketch challenge, created by our own Margaret Moody. She's quite the talented one when it comes to creative sketches.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Designer Series Paper in Soft Suede and Baja Breeze. I tucked some Soft Suede Striped Grosgrain ribbon over the top of the Soft Suede piece to create a nice little hanging banner for my focal point. Then I embossed the oval Designer Frame onto some Very Vanilla card stock and tore it out. I stamped the image from SU!'s Have a Seat in Soft Suede ink. I added a little Itty Bitty Punch flower, embellished with a Pearl Jewel on the chair. Then I finished things off with a simple banner, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Curly Cute in Baja Breeze.

Hope you'll play along with us at Pals Paper Arts! Remember, you can use any of your favorite products and have plenty of time to link up! I can't wait to see what you create! :)

I {Heart} Metallic Ribbon

Today I'm sharing a simple card that I whipped up for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger Challenge. Aren't these tissue paper pom poms just gorgeous?!


I love this color combination so much and I decided to add a bit of gold ribbon and use it as my inspiration for my I {Heart} Metallic Ribbon Challenge.


DEEtails, DEEtails, DEEtails:

I started with a shimmery MS doily from my stash and tied on some pretty gold ribbon. Then I got to work with my pom pom flowers, using my punches and card stock. I punched out the flowers, then rolled them between my fingers until the paper fibers began to peel. I carefully peeled apart the layers to create these tissue-like flowers. It's a simple technique, really, and makes beautiful flowers. Then I stamped my sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites. I'm lovin' it... How about you? :)

Don't forget to link up to my I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. We're celebrating this month with some metallic ribbon! Come join in on the fun!