Pretty In Pink

Hi all!  Thought I'd write a quick post and share pictures from my baby shower.  I'm now 32 weeks pregnant and things are moving along.  Only a few more weeks till we meet Miss Amelia Grace.  The theme for my baby shower was "pink" and tea party.  Have you looked at baby shower ideas on Pinterest???  Oh my, ideas galore.  My colors were candy pink and sage.  I got most all of my party supplies from Oriental Trading - who knew they had so much fun stuff. 

Here are a few pictures:

 

 

My cake was adorable and tasted wonderful! 

 

 

 

 

Hello Kitty Tea Party diaper cake. 

 

 

Tea Party decorations with marshmallows. 

 



 

 

A collage of the evening.  Amelia received enough clothes to dress an army!  She will be a stylish baby! 

MIA

Hi crafty friends!  I'm alive!  I have been MIA for months and the worst blogger ever, but I do have a good excuse.  I'm now 28 weeks pregnant and life has been a roller coaster since the moment I had a positive pregnancy test. 

Summer has come and gone.  I was so sick with morning sickness that I didn't really care.  We've had so many chicks hatch - I can't even keep up with who belongs to who anymore.  We've also lost a few dear barn yard companions - my precious Squab and Big Red.

Here's a picture of the "boys" - my turkeys Ed and Eddy.  There's a fine balance between life and death on the farm.  It's impossible not to loose some of your favorite animals and believe me it's not easy.  But it's worth it for the moments of joy you have with your "barn yard friends".  We lost a goat earlier this week - Tiny.  He has always been one of my favorites.  It has took me 9 years to learn this, but it's finally possible for me to say "ok, we've done all we can" and know when to let an animal go.  To me,  giving an animal a dignified death and not letting it suffer is the biggest gift you can give.  Even though the animal is no longer there in body, it's memory lives on and we never forget what it gave us. 

Farm living is constant work.  For anyone who thinks they can buy a barn, get a few animals, and be done - they are VERY wrong.  That's the fun thing about living on a farm, the journey.  It's not the day the chickens hatch, or the horse is born, it's the journey you take with each animal. 

Hopefully I'll be back sooner, rather than later, to blog again.  I've not made a craft in months.  I do have my nursery finished.  Here's a picture of the nursery bedding I got from Pottery Barn Kids (this picture is from PBK, not took a picture of my nursery yet):

It's the "Haley" collection and just adorable.  Just the right balance of pink.  I'm afraid if I push the pink she will grow up and wear black 24/7.  We've also picked out a name, Amelia Grace.  My baby shower is in 2 weeks - the theme is vintage tea party.  Hopefully after I have the baby my crafty mojo will come back.  It has left the building for the time being!

Stamp School Release Day 3

Today's the big day!  Stamp School's release.  Would you like to see the new stamp sets available for August???  Take a look:

PERFECT additions to your stamp collection!  Birthday stamps are something you can never have enough of!  Now here is my final release card:

Hope you've enjoyed the past few days of Stamp School mania.  Visit the Stamp School website throughout the month to see tips and techniques and tons of inspiration.  Also visit the Stamp School Shop to purchase your own birthday fun!

Stamp School Release Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of Stamp School's sneak peeks.  We are focusing on birthdays this month.  Here is my card for day 2:

Gotta love the girly colors in this card.  I wanted it to be very feminine and fun.  Visit Stamp School for more details on our August release!  And tune in tomorrow for the stamp set reveal.

Stamp School Release Day 1

Hi all!  Well I'm sure you all think I've fell off the face of the earth!  I'll explain where I've been in a moment.  First I want to share a sneak peek of Stamp School's August release.  This month we are focusing on birthdays and Stamp School has created the most adorable stamps for the happy occasion.

Here's a little peek of the latest stamp and sentiment set:

Visit Stamp School for more details on this month's release.  You can also visit the Stamp School Shop at A Walk Down Memory Lane - where all the Stamp School products are available for purchase.

Now would you like to know what I have been up to???  Here's a hint:

It's a baby!  I am 14 weeks pregnant with our first baby.  We tried fertility treatments for years and nothing ever happened.  So naturally, we gave up and I got pregnant.  I have had TERRIBLE morning, evening, and nite sickness that has stole all of my crafty mojo.  Looks like creating is on hold till January 27th (my due date).

Tune in tomorrow for another post dedicated to sneak peeks!

Stamp School Release Day 3

Hi all!  Welcome to Day 3 of the June Stamp School Release.  Today I wanted to focus on the theme of the month - weddings....

OK so I'm in love with this month's sentiments and wedding images!  My card stock, felt, and ink are all Pop Tone shades that can be found at the Stamp School Shop.  The dress image was so fun to color, much like playing with paper dolls!  

Visit the Stamp School Design Team blogs to see their projects for Day 3:

Vickie

Rochelle

Joceyln (June's Guest Designer)

This month's release has been a blast!  Visit Stamp School to see the full stamp sets and find out how you can purchase!  Enjoy!!!

Stamp School Release Day 2

Hi all!  Welcome to Day 2 of the Stamp School June Release.  Today I'll be showing you more sneak peeks at this month's stamp sets.  This month the Design Team are also featuring papers and inks from  the new Bazzill Candy Shoppe Colors.

For today's card, I went with an "indie" theme.

I wanted this card to be a "non-traditional" wedding card with non-traditional colors.  The scrolls on the pink card stock are part of this month's stamp school release, I just built it into the background by repeatedly stamping the scrolls.  My sentiment is also part of this month's sentiment release.  I also used Bazzill's Jawbreaker card stock for my base.  This card could be for a graduation, wedding, baby...the sky's the limit!  Check out the Design Team's blogs for their Day 2 Release creations:

Vickie

Rochelle

Joceyln (June's Guest Designer)

Visit tomorrow for Stamp School Release Day 3!

Stamp School Release Day 1

Hi guys!  It's your long lost crafty friend!  Life has been VERY busy lately and I've been neglecting my little blog, but not neglecting my crafting.  Hubby and I have been painting and doing some Spring fix ups around the house.  The first hay cutting is behind us and I'm happy to say our barns are almost full of hay already and we still have 1 to 2 more cuttings this year.  God is good!  I've also had a very sick chicken, Squab.  I was sure she would pass or have to be put down, but with some TLC, meds, and Prayer she's on the mend.  I said it would take a miracle for her to survive and that's just what we got!

Today is the first sneak peek at Stamp School's June Releases.  Oh my, this month's stamps are just adorable and perfect for Summer.  Here's my card for the day:

As you will see later in the week - this month's theme at Stamp School is weddings.  But the stamps are so versatile, I wanted to show you what could be done with a little imagination.  Visit Stamp School's Design Team blogs to see their beautiful creations:

Vickie

Rochelle

Joceyln (June's Guest Designer)

My card stock, felt, and ink are all Pop Tone products.  They can be found at the Stamp School shop at A Walk Down Memory Lane.  We'd love for you to visit Stamp School to see the new releases and check out the tips, tricks, and ideas from the Stamp School Faculty.  If you enjoy stamping this is the place to be!

Tune in tomorrow for Stamp School Release Day 2!

Stamp School Sneak Peek Day 3

Scroll Down For The Sampler's Blog Hop.


Welcome to Day 3 of Stamp School's Sneak Peeks.  Today's card was such fun to make.  It's so hard for me to do an "all masculine" card, so I added flowers to this one (thanks to Stamp School's Flowers For Mom from April's release).

A wheel barrel full of flowers, what could make Dad more happier???  Loving Stamp School's May releases.  

Stamp School Sneak Peek Day 2

Scroll Down For The Sampler's Blog Hop

Day 2 of Stamp School's May releases is here and I have another masculine card to share with you.  Today I decided to make a border using ties:

I'm also loving this saying!  Stamp School has all your masculine and Father's Day cards covered!  Visit Stamp School to see more Sneak Peeks!

Stamp School Sneak Peek Day 1

Scroll Down For The Sampler Blog Hop!!!!

Hi guys!  Time for sneak peeks from Stamp School!  April was all about "Mom" so May is all about "Dad".  This month Stamp School is releasing fabulous masculine stamps that will be a great addition to any stampers stash!

Do you like my little golf cart???  Such sweet manly stamps this month and a great sentiment set also.  Oh and did I mention the latest Pop Tone colors....fans of bright vibrant colors will love this month's releases!

Visit Stamp School to see more sneak peeks!

The Sampler Blog Hop

Hi all!!!  Welcome to The Sampler's Blog Hop! 

You should have arrived from the amazingly talented Shaunna's Blog.  The Design Team wants to give back to the fans with inspiration and prizes!  We've decided to take a simple  embellishment and use as our focus for this hop - brads.  Something all scrappers have!  The Design Team also used the fabulous April kit from The Sampler....check it out here!

I wanted to use brads to create a banner on my layout:

I simply created the shape by using brads then strung fabulous October Afternoon twine (also in the April Sampler Kit) to create my banner.  This layout was so fun to put together, it features my turkeys Ed, Ede, and Eddie.  Ede has went to live at another home now (can you say to much testosterone in the barnyard!). I  hatched these boys in an incubator, so I'm very proud of how they've turned out.  

Each member of the Design Team is having a giveaway on their blog!  We are giving away a "sampling" of The Sampler along each of the stops.  So for my giveaway, just leave a comment and I'll randomly pick a winner.  You have the entire week, until Friday May 4th , to play along with our hop!

Here's the Blog Hop order:

Holly
Shaunna
Amber = You Are Here!
Amy S
Amy C
Nancy
The Sampler

I also want to mention The Sampler Card & Sketch Challenge going on at The Sampler.  We'd love to have you play along!  And there's prizes involved!

The next stop along the hop, the fabulous Amy S!!!  Enjoy!!!

The Sampler Card Challenge

Hi all!  You must have thought I fell off the planet!  I started my new job and have been on day shift for 3 weeks now.  My body feels like it's been run over by a train.  It's  hard to undo 11 years of night shift in a few weeks, looking forward to feeling normal some day.

Want to share this month's Sampler Card Challenge with you all.  We've started a brand new blog for The Sampler and we are having a blog hop starting Friday.

OK so here's this month's card sketch via PageMaps.  

And here is my card:

I created this card using goodies from April's Sampler Kit.  It is such a fabulous kit!!!  We also have a darling layout sketch and will be giving away prizes for a card and lo.  Lots of chances to win!  

Inspiration With The Cutting Cafe

Time for a new week of inspiration at The Cutting Cafe.  This week the Design Team is focusing on the great jar files Regina has in the Shop.  I am a country girl so love jars, big jars, little jars...you get the idea.  I think they are perfect for storage and so vintage.

This week I used the Jar Shaped Template Cutting Files to make a cute card, take a look:

For this card I used the gum ball jar filler (included with Jar Template).  I colored them with Copics and added Stickles for shine.  I added some stamps from Papertrey Ink, vintage tag and clothes pin.  I used Liquid Pearl around the top of my jar.  Loved making this card, putting it together was so much fun.  

Visit The Cutting Cafe Blog and leave a comment on this week's Inspiration Post to be entered into a drawing to win ANY 3 sets from The Cutting Cafe.  It's also time for a Design Team Call!  

I'd appreciate it if you'd keep my Aunt Tammie in your Prayers.  She got admitted to the hospital with chest pain last week and ended up having open heart surgery on Tuesday.  Turns out she's had a heart anomaly that develops in utero and never knew.  The MD's say that most people who aren't treated never have warning signs and it usually results in sudden death.  She is doing good, post op pain is her biggest battle.  We are just so thankful that God gave her chest pain and she went in for treatment and they found the bigger problem.  

Also Pray for me.  I start my new job Monday!  I've done the same job for 11 years and this is a huge jump for me.  I kept thinking of the words "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  It is literally a giant leap for me, but I'm excited to get started!  

Stamp School April Release Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 from Stamp School's April Release.  Each month the Design Team features the new SS items on the last 3 days of the month.  Then throughout the month, the DT shows you tips, tricks, and ideas using stamps.  We also have monthly contests and would love for you to play along.

Here's my sneak peek:

Who loves this quote?  Just darling and so true.  I used Razzleberry and Bubblegum Pop Tone Card Stocks for my project.  I love using matching card stock and ink to stamp.  That's exactly what I did on my Bubblegum Card Stock to make my flowers fade into the background.  I also used Pop Tone felt for banners.

Visit Stamp School for me details on our April release.  You can also find Stamp School on Facebook and Pinterest.

Enjoy!!!

Stamp School April Release Day 2

Welcome to day 2 of the April sneak peeks from Stamp School.  I have a card to share with you today using goodies from this month's release.  One of my absolute favorite things about being on the Stamp School Design Team is that I have got to use the Pop Tone Card Stock.  Being an avid stamper, I am always looking for sturdy paper that stamps great.  It is also handy because you can buy it in 6x6 or 8.5x11 sheets.  I really love the Pop Tone Card Stock and it is definitely my "go to" paper when stamping and card making.  I highly recommend it if you are looking for a paper that stamps neatly and holds up well to coloring.

Here's my sneak peek for day 2:

I stamped on canvas to make this card.  I had these little canvas hearts lying around and had never done anything with them.  So I stamped directly onto the canvas then went over the stamped images with Copics. I added Liquid Pearl to outline my heart.  The canvas stamped and colored perfectly and my Copic colors didn't bleed into areas of the canvas, it stayed put.  I love this technique!  If you try it, leave me a comment.  I'd love to see what you make.  

Stop by Stamp School to see the Design Team's beautiful release projects for Day 2.  

Stamp School April Release Day 1

It's time for a new release at Stamp School.  This month Stamp School is releasing 2 fabulous stamp sets - one with images and the other sentiments, plus 4 new shades of Pop Tone Card Stock, Felt, and Ink.  If you are a fan of Spring you will love this month's goodies.

Today I have a sneak peek at a card using SS products:

Eek, this is one of my favorite cards ever!  I started with my Pop Tone Card Stocks, stamped my sentiment and cut it out using pinking sheers.  I then die cut butterflies and stamped them.  I added buttons and jute for fun.  Don't you just love the sentiment?  This month's sentiment set is perfect for Mother's Day, but great for any day of the year you want to honor a special person in your life.  

Visit Stamp School to see the Design Teams darling release projects.  You can purchase the new products on April 1st at A Walk Down Memory Lane.  If you'd like to get an early start, visit AWDML to see the previously released Stamp School products.  

Cute Critters

Hi guys.  Have some inspiration to share with you tonite from The Cutting Cafe.  This week we are showing you an adorable set called Cute Critters.  This set has been a favorite of mine since being on the Design Team, because of the bees.  In case you didn't know, we have bees on the farm.  Hubby and my Father In-Law have bee stands and get honey from the hard working queen and her helper bees.

Here's a picture of some of the bee stands.  See that smoking thing???  That's a bee smoker.  When you rob the bees and get the racks of honey out, you can puff smoke on the bees and it calms them.  Amazing huh?  I honestly respect bees because they are such hard working little creatures.

For my bee card I used Copics, Sakura pens, and Stickles to color my image. My papers are Jillibean Soup.  You can purchase the Cute Critters Stamp Set at The Cutting Cafe.  Don't forget to check out all the inspiration this week at the Cutting Cafe Blog. 

Enjoy!!!

Graduates

Hi guys!  Hope you're having a happy weekend.  I've had a crazy life changing week.  All I know is God is truly leading me, because my life has took turns I never expected.  Turns for the good.  We decided to foster to adopt back in November and started classes in February.  Our classes are almost complete and I've been so worried about baby care since Hubby and I both worked nite shift.  Soooo I put in for another job, day shift five days a week like normal people work, and I got it.  It will be an education job, no more holiday work for me.  I've been working this crazy schedule for 11 years.  Hubby also took a day shift job so we can be home nites and evenings.  Just keep us in your Prayers!  It's amazing to see God move in your life.

Now on to cards.  This month Stamp School is focused on Graduates.  It's so difficult to find good graduate stamps.  Stamp School had two stamp releases this month, "To The Future" and "Graduates".  Here are a few cards I made using the March goodies:

All of my cards used Stamp School's Pop Tone Card Stocks and Inks.  If you are looking for a card stock that stamps great, I highly recommend Pop Tone.  You can shop for Stamp School products at their sister site, A Walk Down Memory Lane.  Plus check out Stamp School's Website - a great place to learn tips and tricks for stamping.  You can also find all four of my cards there plus a complete list of products and details on how I made them.  

There's also a fabulous giveaway going on at The Sampler Blog.  All you have to do is leave a comment on Holly's Post by April 7th for you chance to win goodies from The Sampler.