Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to 'Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop'. If your not familiar with 'Operation Write Home' they support our nations armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to the soldiers to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. To celebrate Memorial Day they are doing this HUGE blog hop of over 134 paper crafting bloggers and Wink Wink Ink is participating in this hop.

In honor of this worthy event, Melanie, the owner of Wink Wink Ink, designed this adorable image: This cute bear would bring a smile to any soldiers face and remind them how much we love and appreciate them.

The image is colored with Copic Markers. I used blue card stock for the center panel and placed red ribbon on each side. The stars were cut with the Cuttlebug. The main image panel is mounted up on dimensionals. TIP: To adhere the stars to the raised panel, simply glue the tips that are touching the panel, leaving the other sides free.

Thank you for stopping and visiting today. Your next stop on the hop is Nicole!

And most importantly, THANK YOU to our American Soldiers who are making the sacrifice of being away from their families, friends, and homes so we can enjoy our freedom. And I also want to offer my deepest thanks and condolences to the families of these soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, but remember to take time to honor and respect those for who this weekend was dedicated to.

Amy

Hugs and Fishes

Hello! Today I have a new Wink Wink Ink image called 'Fiona'. Isn't she lovely? This image comes with the fish bowl and two sentiments too! I printed out the pre-colored version of the fishbowl and cut it out. The fish I printed in black and white and I colored her myself. The paper is K & Company 'Hopscotch'. Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge 'Cute People'

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's Challenge is 'Cute People'. Simply make a card or project with a 'Cute People' digital image on it. Our sponsor this week is MyGrafico and they are giving away 1 digi set and 30% off an entire purchase to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

The Digital Tuesday Challenge Designers were given the set 'Sweetie Girl' by Dilek to use for the Challenge. It comes with three adorable little girl images. I chose the little girl with the puppy. I used a sketch from 'I Love to Stamp' to make my card. The papers are from K & Company, and the sentiment is retired Stampin Up! The main image panel, sentiment, and the puppy are all popped up on dimensionals.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Have a great day! Amy

Another Teen Boy Card

I needed a quick teen boy card for an upcoming birthday so I pulled out one of my trusty Stampin Up! 'Extreme ' sets which are PERFECT for making teen cards. This one is called 'Extreme Dirt Bike'. I used Me and My Big Ideas 'Urban Youth' paper (another trusty thing to have around for making teen boy cards or scrap booking pages). I stamped the image and the sentiment (from Inkadinkado) directly onto the designer paper. The orange embossed background was made with a Cuttlebug folder. I tied a simple string around the card for embellishment.

Have a great day! Amy

A New Wink Wink Ink Free Image!

Hello! My card today is so appropriate considering the BEAUTIFUL weather we have been having in Northern Wisconsin this past week. And thankfully I haven't had to work much, so I could get outside and enjoy it! I started my favorite part of gardening: planting the annual containers. I just love choosing the plant combinations and colors and putting them all together. Its so creative and fun. Anyway, since my life is all sunshine and happiness right now, I thought I'd show you a sunshiny card. Its made with the new Wink Wink Ink image that is absolutely FREE for a limited time only, so be sure to grab it while you can. You can find the image at the store, and you can also find it HERE.

To make my card, I used the Splitcoaststampers sketch SC280 and retired Stampin Up! papers. I added ribbon, brads, and a safety pin for embellishment.

Well, I've had enough rest and relaxation for awhile. I'm off to work for a few days. I hope you will all be able to enjoy the sunshine though!

Have a great day! Amy

A Garden Party Bridal Shower

Hello! Today I have some Bridal Shower Pictures to show you. As most of you already know, my daughter is getting married in June, and we just had her bridal shower this past weekend. The theme of the shower was 'Garden Party', with the 'Rose' being the main flower or accent, so just about everything at the shower involved 'Roses' or 'Flowers' of some sort.

First lets start with the invitations. Here is a picture of the Bridal Shower Invitations. I used a Rose Stencil to emboss the flower, then I colored it with chalks. The main image panel is mounted up on dimensionals. The pink paper behind the main image panel is glitter paper so it is very sparkly in real life. Spellbinders Nestabilities were used to make the tag and adhesive crystals and a ribbon rose were added for embellishments. The designer paper is from JoAnn's and has pink roses all over it. Here is a close up of the embossed rose on the card.

Next up are the party favors. I think these were the hit of the party. Everyone seemed to love and appreciate them. And they were so appropriate to give considering this is the time of the year when everyone is planting annuals in their garden and it was a 'garden party'. I am so ever grateful to Gina K. Designs for providing this FREE template just when I needed it most. This basket was so easy to put together and fits a 4 pack of annuals perfectly. I used two different stamps on my basket, both from Stampin Up! One side of the basket has this Rose stamp:

And the other side of the basket has this 'Thank You' stamp. I put Stickles on both stamped images. The paper is from DCWV 'The Garden Party'.

We had a sit down meal held in my sun room. The room is usually filled with a lot more furniture and plants than this, but we just re-did our floors so we had to move everything out. We didn't see the point of moving everything back in when it will just have to be moved back out again for our daughter's wedding, so we left it. Notice the new patio furniture? That was my husband's Mother's Day Gift for me. He must have felt awfully guilty still about his behavior at my daughter's recital. LOL! Anyway, to decorate this room, I simply filled the room with pink geraniums and petunias in hanging baskets and containers.

Here is a close up of one of the place settings. I made the place cards/tags using Spellbinders Nestabilities. My daughter hand wrote all the names using a white gel pen.

This is a picture of my beautiful daughter and I.

And here she is again in our dining room, along with our good friend Pam, getting her food.

This is the food table. I kept the food simple because I worked everyday this week and didn't have the time to cook. I just did sandwiches, fruits and veggies, and an Asian Salad. My dear friend Bonnie made the cupcakes. She is a professional cake decorator and will also be doing my daughter's wedding cake. I decorated the food table using the beautiful cupcakes as a centerpiece, then I wrapped the extra rose garland around the food and threw on some Bridal Shower Confetti.

Here is a close up of the cupcakes. They were also decorated in our Garden Party Theme in pastel/Spring colors and the signature rose flowers. They were so pretty and quite delicious as well.

I hope I've given you some ideas to use if you have a shower coming up!

Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge "Very Vellum"

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's Challenge is 'Very Vellum', simply make a card or project using vellum on it and at least one digital image. Our sponsor this week is our very own Digital Stamp Oasis and they are giving away 3 digis to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

To make my card, I used a newer Digital Stamp Oasis image called 'Costume Kids Bee'. I also used a Stampin Up! Set called 'Just Buzzin By' for the little bees. I thought they went perfectly with the Digital Stamp Oasis image! The paper is also Stampin Up! And is called 'Tea Party'. I mounted the main image and the little bees up on dimensionals. I put Stickles on the big kid bee's wings and the bee on the main image panel. And, if your wondering where the vellum is on my card, its on the little bees wings. I simply stamped and cut the image out twice, so the wings are doubled, once in card stock, and once in Vellum.
Here is a close up of the main image so you can see the coloring and the Stickles.

And here is a close up of one of the little bees so you can see the vellum.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Have a great day! Amy

I got a Little Behind!

Hello! Today I have a Wink Wink Ink Card to show you. This image is called 'Little Behind', isn't she a cutie? I just love that pink bow on her tail. Well, I'm always getting a 'little behind' on my birthday cards lately because I'm so busy with work, my garden, and my daughter's wedding that I've been sending out a lot of 'Belated Birthday' cards, so when I saw how my fellow Wink Wink Ink design team member Louise used this image, I decided to case her! The sentiment is all her idea, not mine! BUTT thanks Louise!!! LOL!

To make my card, I used paper from DCWV 'The Garden Party'. I thought the pink and brown colors went perfectly with the image. The sentiment is computer generated, ribbon and primas were added for embellishment, and I popped up the tail on dimensionals. The scallops were made with the Stampin Up! Scalloped Border Punch. Here is a close up so you can see the dimension of the tail and my coloring with Copic Markers.

From a Bunch of Nuts!

Hello! Today I have a card to show you that I made for a male family friend of ours, since the card was from all of us, the inside reads 'From a Bunch of Nuts'. I just love this set because its so versatile and all the sentiments are so cute. Its one of the few sets I use over and over again. Its called 'Just Nutty' by Clear Dollar Stamps.

To make my card I used the SC275 Sketch Challenge. The paper is from Debbie Mum 'Harvest and Holiday'. I added twine, leaf punches, and a button for embellishment.

Well I'm sorry if I haven't been visiting your blogs much this week, I hope to catch up next week. I was away for the weekend at my daughter's college graduation, and now were frantically trying to get ready for her bridal shower, plus, I work everyday this week. So I've been busy. Next week looks much calmer for me.

Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge "Make Me Laugh!"

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge! This week's challenge is to make a card a project using at least one digital image that Makes Me Laugh! Our sponsor this week is perfect for this challenge, since all his images are SO funny, and that is the fabulous Dustin Pike! He is giving away 3 digital images to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

For my card I used a freebie on Dustin's Blog, yes, you heard me right, a FREEBIE. I thought it was such a fun and unique graduation image, which was just what I needed this time of the year. I used SC276 from Splitcoaststampers for my sketch. The paper is DCWV 'Mediterranean Stack'. I popped up the hat, main image panel and sentiment on dimensionals. The sentiment is retired Stampin Up!

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Have a great day! Amy

Wink Wink Ink Li'l Mermaid Bath Set

Hello! Today I have a Bath Set I made using the 'Li'l Mermaid' image from Wink Wink Ink. I think this will be a very nice gift for a little girl. They love mermaids! The set includes a card, a pink net scrubby, a bar of soap, and some shampoo. Here is a group photo: This is the card. The background paper is DCWV 'The Summer Stack'. I loved the pink color that matches the scrubby and the circles reminded me of air bubbles. The sea shell images are retired Stampin Up! that I cut out and mounted up on dimensionals. The images are colored with Copic Markers. I put Stickles on the mermaids earrings and necklace.

Here is a close up of the bucket which I purchased at JoAnn's for only $1.99. I simply cut out the image after I colored it and glued it to the bucket.

And these are the inside contents of the buckets. I simply took a bar of soap and wrapped it with designer paper from the same DCWV Stack that I used with the card. Then I removed the sticker that was on the bottle of shampoo and used it as a template to cut another sheet of designer paper which I simply glued on the bottle.

And here is a close up of the image so that you can see the coloring and the Stickles.

I hope you enjoyed my little project today! Have a great day! Amy

Spring Blooms

Hello! I thought it's been a long time since I posted some pictures from my garden, so today's post is all about my Spring Blooms. I've been so busy with work and preparing for my daughter's wedding, that I never got around to taking pictures of the Early Spring Blooms in my gardens (like the daffodils and some early flowering trees), so the pictures you will see today are of my mid-spring blooming flowers and trees.

There is a lot of chartreuse yellow in my garden this time of the year. I just love it. This first picture is of a bush in front of my shed. I also have this color in a tree and in some flowers. Here is the color in a flower form. I think this plant is called Cushion Spurge. Its one of my favorite plants because it reseeds easily and has 3 season interest. In the spring its this gorgeous yellow, then its a lovely green foliage plant in the summer, and in the fall the leaves are a beautiful red. I love how the ground cover next to it compliments it so beautifully.

Here is a full shot of the Cushion Spurge and some Creeping Phlox on the hill. I think I only planted one of these plants and it reseeded itself so well. I do not consider it invasive though.

Here is a close up of a ring of Hosta around a maple tree with a shot of more Cushion Spurge and other spring blooms in the background.

This is the view of my garden outside my front porch. The hillside is just blooming with Phlox right now. And the scent when you walk out the door is just heavenly!

This garden looks empty now because I plant annuals in this bed when the weather warms up. Its right outside my front door. This flowering crab was one of the very first trees we planted when we bought our home 12 years ago.

And here is a close up of one of the flowers on the tree. I just love this tree. It has all year interest: beautiful blooms in the spring, pretty green purple foliage in the summer, gorgeous fall foliage, and beautiful berries in the winter for the birds to eat. I can't say enough about it! I love it!

I hope you've enjoyed my little garden tour today. Come and take a tour sometime if your ever in the area! Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge "A Toast to You"

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is "A Toast to You", simply make a card or project using at least one food or drink digital image. That sounds simple enough right? Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Digital Delights!

To make my card I used the Digital Delights image 'Teapot Pippin". Isn't he a cutie? Don't you just love those big ears and chubby cheeks? I chose to use some bright, fun papers from DCWV 'The Posies Stack' to go with this cheerful image. The sentiment is from MFT. I used my Cuttlebug Hearts Embossing Folder on the solid blue paper. The main image panel is up on dimensionals. Brads and Stickles on the heart were added for embellishment. The sketch is from OCLDT09.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my side bar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Have a great day! Amy

Wink Wink Ink Challenge "Any Shape but a Rectangle or Square"

Hi! Today is the first Monday of the month and time for Wink Wink Ink's Second Monthly Challenge! This month's challenge is to create a card that is any shape EXCEPT a rectangle or square and a Wink Wink Ink image. Pretty challenging eh? I chose to make a onesie baby card using the image "Special Delivery" by Wink Wink Ink.

To make my card, I used a template I got from Chia and cut it out in white card stock. I then cut just the top out in sage shadow and embossed it with a Cuttlebug Folder and attached it to the white card stock. I added ribbon and baby buttons for embellishment. The 'Special Delivery' image was cut out using Spellbinder's Nestabilities.

If you'd like to play along with us this month please see the further instructions HERE. Maybe you'll be the winner of some free Wink Wink Ink images this month! Hope to see you there!

Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge is Looking for a Designer!

Hi! Did you hear the great news? There is one opening on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blog for a new designer. I've been a designer for this Challenge Blog for so long, I can't even remember. I love it and have stuck with it for so long because unlike most design teams where you only get images from one company to use, with this design team I get new, free images from different digital companies almost every single week! Your only big commitment is to make one card or project using a digital image per week. You also have to host a challenge once every 10 or 12 weeks or so too. But that's no big deal.

To apply for this position, simply go to the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blog where you will receive further instructions and you can read more about the specific requirements.

I hope you try out! Good Luck and Have a Great Day! Amy