Love Is Like A Butterfly

Hello, ladies!

I started this post on Friday, but had to leave

before I was finished, and the rest of the weekend

was so crazy busy, I never got back to it.

Sorry about that!

I'll get to the winners of last week's

happy mail in just a sec.

First, here's another card I made with the

Echo Park "Be Mine" collection.

The first one was my Design Team sample

for the latest Lawnscaping Challenge.

You still have three days to participate,

if you haven't yet!

No stamping involved here.

The sentiment was part of the collection pack.

Thta was my first time ever ordering a whole

collection pack and it was great!

Lots of pieces you can coordinate with.

Just look at all those gorgeous strips of paper!

I couldn't choose which ones to use,

so I decided to incorporate them all!

Okay, so onto the happy mail winners!

As I said, I picked one winner from each blog,

and they were Cheryl and Laurel.

Ladies, please email your snail mail addresses

to penciledwhimsies at gmail dot com.

As for the rest of you, don't worry if you didn't win.

Happy mail will become a staple here at my blog,

with the next one being a sample of the

collection pack I used on todays card.

So stay tuned for that! I won't say exactly when

 it will be, but it won't be too long.

If you're not familiar with my happy mail giveaways,

they are open to any of my blog follwers,

and come with one small request:

please make a card with some of the supplies

and then link back here and let me know

so I can see it and so that other people can

find out and participate in happy mail!

Thank you all so much for making my

first guest blogging stint such a pleasure!

You ladies rock my world!

Smooches!

Supplies:

cardstock: Bazzill

patterned paper: Echo Park "Be Mine"

ribbon: American Crafts

gems: Recollections, Queen & Co.

Guest Blogging!

Good morning, all!

I just wanted to stop in and let you know that

I'm guest blogging over at my cousin Ashley's

blog, Roja In Virginia, today.

I made a card using an Elzybells stamp,
and I tried out a new technique called "stippling"
with my Copic markers.
It came out quite pretty, I think. :o)

I'd appreciate it so much if you'd stop by

and leave Ashley some comment love.

I'll be giving out two packets of happy mail
(there's a photo posted over there)
to two random commenters, one on each blog.

I'll announce the winners here on Friday.
Have a great day!

Lawnscaping Challenge #4

Happy Monday, everybody!

And welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #4!

This one is a whole lotta fun.

And we have a great prize for you, too.

The winner of the challenge will take home

this adorable stamp set by Lawn Fawn.

It's so versatile, it's already become my

most used stamp set in my arsenal!

And not only that,

but we're introducing an extra-special bonus prize

for the second monthly challenge.

It's more than an honor,

it's a chance to bond with us design team girls

and promote your blog while having a great time.

It's a wonderful opportunity,

and I have a feeling the competition is going to be

even fiercer than ever now!

Can't wait to see all the cards that start flooding in.

And speaking of cards, here's my take on the challenge:

I've been wanting to use the little "merci"

thank you stamp that Kelly Marie sent me with my

first Lawn Fawn order, and when I saw

this paper from Echo Park's Be Mine collection,

I knew they'd be a match made in heaven!

All that was needed was a little chic sweater

for my pup, which I made by stamping him twice,

then drawing the lines in and cutting it out,

and a beret, which I drew freehand with a pencil

then traced with a copic multiliner.

Want another look?

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Please head over to the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog

and check out all the other amazing DT samples,

then visit each of the girls and leave them

some personal comment love.

Laurel Beard

Lynette Kauffman

Britta Swiderski

Ashley Nguyen Newell

Christiana Reuling

and guest designer

Karen Baker

Have a great day, everybody!

Supplies:

cardstock: Bazzill

patterned paper: Echo Park "Be Mine"

stamps: Lawn Fawn "Critters In The Burbs", "Merci", "Bannerific", Eiffel Tower by Limited Edition

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black and London Fog, Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Charcoal

copics: C01, C03, C05, R20, R22, R35

ribbon: Pure Color

gem: Queen & Co.

Craft Room Quick Tour Video

Hi there!

I'm so sorry I've been mostly absent this week.

It's been a crazy deadline couple of days

and I just haven't had much time to even get online,

let alone create.

Anyway, I'd been wanting to do another video,

and since I haven't had time to craft,

I thought it might be fun to just do a quick tour

of my office/craft room/spare bedroom.

I don't know if you're like me,

but I always love peeking into people's crafty spaces.

I finally got this on the third take,

while my battery was blinking red,

so in my rush, I forgot to mention three things:

I store my Martha Stewart scoreboard,

my Fiskars paper trimmer, and stamp press

on the bottom shelf of the Cropper Hopper file system.

I keep folded cardstock,

(when I make one card, I fold the other half and save it for later)

envelopes, and finished cards in the three

brown CD cases on my bookshelf.

I keep punches in a bin inside
the bottom cupboard of the bookshelf.

Other than that, everything else is in there!
Enjoy!

If Raindrops Were Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've just finished up a wonderful

home-cooked meal with my hubby

of shrimp alfredo and fresh salad greens,

followed by chocolate covered strawberries.

Yum! They were so good.

I wanted to pop in and share

the Valentine I gave my hubby today.

Not thrilled about how the umbrella turned out,

but I was in a huge rush to finish in time,

so I had to accept "good enough" this go round.

I didn't have room on the outside for the sentiment,

so I just added that tiny "I heart u" in the bottom right corner

and stamped the sentiment on the inside.

It says, "If raindrops were kisses, I'd send you a storm."

Squeal! Isn't that the sweetest?

I couldn't take a pic of the inside though

because I finished it just in time to give it to him,

and had to take the photo after

 I'd already written my personal message.

Sorry! Some things are best kept secret. ;o)

I just love this sweet Elzybells image.

The company shut its doors last year,

unfortunately for me, just after I'd discovered them,

but I found some for sale at Jay Gee's Nook in Australia.

Since the Aussie dollar is about even with the US dollar

right now, the prices were really reasonable,

especially considering that these stamps are pretty scarce.

I ordered a couple, so you'll be seeing more

of them in the near future.

By the way, I just realized that this card

fits perfectly with the latest Wee Memories Challenge #43.

If you've made a valentine this week, you already qualify!

Why not head over and play along?

This might be just the opportunity you've been waiting for.

Okay, well goodnight!

Back to my Valentine's evening with my hubby!

Supplies:

cardstock: Bazzill

patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon

stamps: Elzybells

ink: Tsukineko Momento Tuxedo Black

copics: lots!

ribbon: Darice

Hello, Friend

Hello there!

Boy, I've been a busy girl lately, haven't I?

Hopefully you've been enjoying this extra burst of

creativity I've been having lately.

When I saw this challenge inspiration photo

over at Jay Gee's Nook I knew I had to play.

Just take a look at this. So pretty!

The elements that really inspired me

were the doves and butterflies,

along with that gorgeous, subtle springy color palette.

Here's my interpretation:

I just loved the idea of a  mid-air meet and greet

between a bird and a butterfly.

What you can't see in the above photo,

is that I actually stamped clouds in the sky

with Colorbox fluid chalk ink in Popcorn.

The result was a super sheer, but shiny impression.

In person, it looks really cool when you tip the card

so that the light catches it.

Maybe you can see it better here?

Or here?

By the way, did you notice that I won

the We Memories Challenge #42 with Friday's card?

I was so shocked, and absolutely thrilled!

That's my first challenge win!

My new badge is proudly displayed in my sidebar.

And thank you guys for all the love and support

you left me in regards to Happy Mail.

This round goes to Anne Marie,

but I'll be doing another before long, so stay tuned.

Anne Marie, please email me your snail mail address

to penciledwhimsies at gmail dot com

and I'll get that sent right out to you.

Hope you all have a great week!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Supplies:

cardstock: Hollo's Papercraft

paper: DCWV "Linen Closet"

stamps: Lawn Fawn "Fly Free", "Critters In The Burbs", "Just My Type"

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black and London Fog

punch: Martha Stewart

ribbon: American Crafts

pearls: Queen & Co

Keep the Sun in Your Heart plus Happy Mail!

Happy Friday, everybody!

How are you all today?

Today is my day off, so I had a whole bunch of

stuff planned, but life got in the way.

The school nurse called around 9:30 and told me

that Elliott was sick and needed picked up.

Oh well.

So now he's resting on the couch next to me,

watching Fireman Sam while I update my blog.

So, last week I tried to make a card with sunrays, but somehow

I didn't cut it right, and ended up with a pile of irregular

triangle shaped pieces from two of my favorite yellow prints

from the October Afternoon Thrift Shop collection.

The worst part was, when the first one didn't work out,

I attemped it a second time, and wound up with another

pile of scraps -- too small for much of anything.

I nearly cried, I was so upset about the wasted paper.

Then I saw the Wee Memories Challenge #42.

I almost had to laugh.

I could only use a small punch on all those "rays"

so I used my 3/4" circle punch.

Sorting through my scrap bin, I also found

a brown circle left over from my Lawnscaping Challenge #2

design team sample (the hole I cut out for the front),

a small strip of floral print and

 a partial sheet of blue left over from my

Altered Composition Notebook Video Tutorial.

And a strip of black polkadot paper from my

Bananas for You card for St. Jude's.

Here's the card that resulted:

And speaking of scraps, I want to try something new.

I'm one of those people who can't stand to throw away scraps

but my scrap bin is getting too full to make it easy to sort through.

 While thinking up a solution, I remembered that old saying,

 "one man's trash is another man's treasure"

And thought that maybe this could be a way for me to give back

in some small way to all my wonderful blog readers.

So I'm introducing "Happy Mail" to my blog.

Every so often, I'll sort through my scrap bin and make up

a little packet of scraps -- enough for a card or two

and send them out to one commenter.

For example, here's today's Happy Mail:

It includes a bunch of random-sized scraps,

all from October Afternoon's Thrift Shop 8x8 pad.

Some are cut down to a standard sized card front,

some smaller, some punched with various punches,

and there's also two stamped images from Penny Black.

I have just one request:

If you sign up for the Happy Mail,

I'd love it if you would make a card using at least some

of these scraps, and then link back here to my blog,

to let other people know about Happy Mail.

Plus, I want to see your card!

If you'd like to be entered in today's Happy Mail

please leave a comment saying so and also 

a way to contact you for your mailing address.

I want to get this out quickly,

so only today's comments will be eligible.

Okay, well that's it from me today.

Have a great weekend!

Supplies:

cardstock: Bazzill kraft

paper: October Afternoon "Thrift Shop"

stamps: Lawn Fawn "Fly Free" and "Partly Cloudy"

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #67 and more

Hi, everyone!

Hope you're having a good night.

I'm going to post this super quick,

because I want to sneak this card in before

the deadline in just a little bit.

I made this card just now for

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #67.

I was really inspired by the bold, bright color palette.

Isn't this photo gorgeous?

It looked really challenging,

but that's the fun of it, right?

Here's my card:

Using a new (to me, at least)

MFT Pure Innocence stamp.

So sweet.

And it looks like the ladies at The Play Date Cafe

aren't the only ones who are digging these colors this week.

Check out this week's Copic Creations "We're Cool" Challenge.

Could hardly be more spot on if they tried!

The folks over at Simon Says Stamp

are also having a challenge this week,

the theme being "Love Is In The Air."

I figured with the valentine colors and sweet sentiment

and music notes, I'd enter that one as well.

The prize is a $50 gift certificate! Wow!

That's it from me tonight.

Have a wonderful evening!

Supplies:

cardstock: Bazzill

pink paper: K&Co

stamps: My Favorite Things Pure Innocence, Stampendous

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Warm Red

copics: E000, E00, E53, E55, E57, R20, R35, R46, R59, V04, V06, V09, B21, B23, B26, YG95, YG97, YG99

Lawnscaping Challenge #3

Happy Monday, everybody!

And welcome to a brand-new Lawnscaping Challenge!

You guys have made the last two challenges

so amazing, and we're happy to bring you

Lawnscaping Challenge #3!

One winner will take home this fabulous prize:

We hope you'll play along!

Here's my design team sample:

Since our theme is "All About Love" this round,

I thought I'd surprise my husband by making a

valentine in his native language, German.

The sentiment reads, "You are my treasure."

I love that I was able to do that with the Lawn Fawn alphas.

I also did some reverse stamping,

thanks to this great tutorial by Marie/Legojenta

to get my lovely octopi, and hand-drew

the little bow, then traced it with a Copic multiliner.

Layered shells with a pearl in the center

make the perfect clams. :o)

Here's another look.

I hope you enjoyed my card for this challenge!

Now head on over to the Lawnscaping blog

and check out the other amazing design team samples!

They are:

Laurel Beard

Lynette Kauffman

Ashley Nguyen Newell

Britta Swiderski

Christiana Reuling (me!)

and our fabulous guest designer

Karen Baker

Also don't forget the latest Lawn Fawn release

is starting right now at this very moment!

One last thing:

I know this is getting long, but I wanted to say

that I'm still working on my blog candy giveaway

for all my wonderful followers.

Thank you guys so much!

Your support means so much to me,

and I'll be updating with details on that soon.

Have a crafty day!



Supplies:

cardstock: Hollo's Papercraft

patterned paper: Basic Grey, DCWV

stamps: Lawn Fawn "Critters in the Sea", "Hat's off to You", and "Harold's ABCs"

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress in Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Shabby Shutters, Milled Lavender, Antique Linen, Tea Dye, and Vintage Photo

pearls: Queen & Co.

ribbon: Joann's

You're My Cutie Pie

Hi there!

Aren't you glad it's the weekend?

Today I have a card based on TWO challenges.

The first is this great color inspiration by Color Q.

Isn't this combo yummy?

And the second is featuring this sketch

by the lovely folks over at Wee Memories.

Adorable right?

Yeah, I just had to play along.

And here's my card.

What can I say, I'm in a lovey dovey mood.

And these challenges both vibe perfectly.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Dont' forget the Lawnscaping #3 Challenge

starts Monday at midnight.

I hope you'll play along!

Have a great weekend!

Supplies:

cardstock: Hollo's Papercraft

patterned paper: Basic Grey, Target

stamps: Lawn Fawn "My Silly Valentine"

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress in Spun Sugar

copics: E27, E33



Bananas For You - One More for St. Jude's

Have you heard the news?

Winter received so many cards

for the St. Jude's Valentine Drive

that she's going to be able to donate

to TWO other hospitals!

Is God good or what?

So many kids are going to be

blessed with love this Valentine's Day.

It just touches my heart.

Here's one more card I made for the drive

using Lawn Fawn's "My Silly Valentine",

 October Afternoon papers, and a little paper piecing.

If you didn't get your cards in by today,

you're too late for this round,

but there's always next year!

And keep a watch out for other great

causes to donate cards to!

There's so many people out there

who could use a smile!

Also, if you still haven't participated

in the latest Lawnscaping Challenge,

you've still got a little bit of time.

The deadline is tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

cardstock: Georgia Pacific

patterned papers: October Afternoon "The Thrift Shop"

stamps: Lawn Fawn "My Silly Valentine"

ink: Tsukineko Momento in Tuxedo Black