May Paper Smooches DT Blog Hop!

This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for my Growing in Unity {Day 4} post, please scroll down.

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches June stamp release with you! The three NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase on June 1st. You will find them HERE. Follow the Paper Smooches blog for more sneak peeks.

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! Just leave a comment on any of the five design team blogs listed below for your chance to win one of the three new June stamp sets! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify) You have until midnight MT on Friday, June 1st to leave a comment. Please check all five blogs on Saturday, June 2nd to see if you are one of the five lucky winners.

• Emily Leiphart <--- You are here.
• Heidi Van Laar
• Kryssi Ng
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Teri Anderson

To increase your chances of winning:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post

2. Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop

3. Tell us that you Tweeted about our hop

4. Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

(which means that you have up to four chances to win on each blog)

My card features one of the sentiments from Qwick Qwips. This set is filled with fun, popular three-letter expressions!

I came up with this scene when I recently acquired Spring Groves. It was a case of squirrel meets squirrel. The big one always makes trouble for the little one, right? LOL And a scene was born. I thought the patterned papers from My Mind's Eye Dilly Dally worked perfectly with it. I cut out some of the tickets that would complement the scene. The small squirrel has paid the big squirrel '1 token', which he's holding, to give him the ride of his life. LOL See how perfectly the sentiment works with the scene? ;D The spoon is from Healthy Vibes and the fulcrum is the hat from Party Posse.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Remember to check back here on Saturday to see if you are the lucky winner of Qwick Qwips!

Sources: SU Sahara Sand cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally 6x6 paper pad; Paper Smooches Qwick Qwips (available June 1st), Hang Ups, Spring Groves, Healthy Vibes & Party Posse; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copic markers; foam tape

Growing in Unity {Day 4}

Surprise, it's another encouragement card! When I saw Simply. Love. Deeply by Simple Stories, I just had to have it. The journalling block with flourishes is so beautiful and I love the subway art style of the two sentiments. It's perfect. This card allows one of those sentiments to shine. Sometimes in life when I get lost in dark places, I really do forget the good stuff. I need this reminder to not let the bad overshadow the good because the good is so important. I used four different patterns from Basic Grey's What's Up collection. The sentiment was stamped directly on to one of them.

I will be choosing one random winner from all the comments left on my Growing in Unity posts this week and that lucky lady will win two itty bitty stamps of her choice. Thanks so much for stopping by to enjoy today's Unity project!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury kraft cardstock; Basic Grey What's Up 6x6 paper pad; Unity+Simple Stories Simply. Love. Deeply; Tim Holtz for Ranger Dusty Concord distress ink; MFT Die-namics Skyline Border & Wonky Scallop Border; SU Basic Rhinestones; foam tape

Growing in Unity {Day 3}

We're halfway through the week and I have another Unity card to share with you! Can you tell I'm still hooked on making cards that encourage? :) I started with the glasses from One of a Kind. I've tried to use the glasses with the sentiment attached so many times and failed. So this time, I decided I was finally going to cut off the sentiment. Now I can use the glasses freely with anything I want. When I cut off the sentiment, I cut it jaggedly so I could always put the three pieces back together easily on an acrylic block.

The sentiment is from the February 2011 Kit of the Month, The Best is Yet To Be. I stamped it directly on top of the glasses in black, two more times in olive and pink, trimmed out the two words and adhered the two pieces to the card. The beautiful frame is one of my favourite Unity stamps and it's from With Love.

Don't forget, if you comment on all five Growing in Unity posts this week, you could win two itty bitty stamps of your choice from Unity Stamp Company!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Unity+Echo Park With Love, Unity+Melody Ross One of a Kind & Unity The Best is Yet To Be; SU Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive & Melon Mambo inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Here We Grow Again

This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for my Growing in Unity {Day 2} post, please scroll down or CLICK HERE.

Kim is sharing this card on the Paper Smooches Blog today. It's a sneak peek at one of the new sets being released on June 1st. Are you totally excited? I squealed and squealed when I first saw this set and you will, too. ;) Not to worry. It doesn't make me sad to work with baby stamps. I'll admit that I sure wish I was making cards like this for myself but I can't help but smile when working with Kim's cute illustrations.

In its original position, the stork is standing but I curved its neck and legs to make it look like it's flying. So fun! I hung the swaddle blanket with the baby on the beak, stamped the skyline from Metropolis and inked the sentiment in three colours: 'we' is in blue to match the stork and 'grow' is in olive to match the swaddle blanket. Finally, I added yellow Stickles to all the windows for visual interest.

See you Thursday for the big monthly blog hop! ;)

Sources: SU Natural Ivory cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Echo Park A Walk in the Park Collection; Paper Smooches TBA & Metropolis; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Pool Party & Old Olive inks; Copic markers; Ranger Stickles in Yellow

Growing in Unity {Day 2}

I'm back to share more of Unity's beautiful stamps. Today's card is a very simple one-layer card using an itty bitty called Relax, Renew, Restore by Webster's Pages. When I first saw this, I not only fell in love with the gorgeous lilac image but also the fabulous sentiment. It's a good reminder for me this week as I'm starting to feel better physically. Emotionally, I still have some bad days but I know time will heal.

I used three Stampin' Write markers to selectively ink the image. I can imagine different colour variations and several other sentiments that would work well with the lilac. Remember to leave a comment on each Growing in Unity post this week for a chance to win two itty bitty stamps of your choice!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Unity+Webster's Pages Relax, Renew, Restore; Stampin' Write Markers in Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi & Garden Green; Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Growing in Unity {Day 1}

That's right, I'm the Growing in Unity Gal this week! It kind of snuck up on me. Lucky for me, I have a ton of never-before-seen Unity cards. Today's card is one of them. I made this several months ago and, admittedly, it's a publication reject. I hung on to it because I thought it might serve another purpose but that opportunity has also passed. Now is the right time to share it. I feel very protective of this card and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
The sentiment is from a Melody Ross set called She Did It Anyway. It might be hard to tell in the photo but the card base is a lavender colour. I die cut and embossed the tank top using oval dies and the torso was hand cut with scissors. The necklaces were made using clear rhinestones and baker's twine. The lilac necklace is a double-strand which was knotted three times and the pink necklace is a single strand with lemon knots tied to it.

At the end of the week, I will choose one random winner from five days of comments to receive two itty bitty stamps of his or her choice. Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope see you again tomorrow!
Sources: Gina K Designs lavender, kraft & black cardstock; Paper Reflections pink cardstock; Unity+Melody Ross She Did It Anyway; Tim Holtz for Ranger Antique Linen & Walnut Stain distress ink; Memories Black ink; Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large; SU Basic Rhinestones; The Twinery Lilac, Lemondrop & Pink Sorbet

Happy Dirtday!

We're going to a birthday party this afternoon for my cousin's two-year-son. He's into vehicles as most toddler boys are so I picked up a Caterpillar Multi-Terrain Loader for him. Of course, my son wants it for himself even though he has loads of construction vehicles. :P I pulled out a Stampin' Up set called I Dig You to make a matching card. I've never used this set myself but my son has stamped with it many times. I used the awesome colours from colourQ challenge #138.

The red elements are from the Cavallini & Co. Numbers paper tape collection. I fussy cut the "2" and put it on the loader to represent the little boy's second birthday.

For my environmentally-friendly (non) gift-wrap, I just made a rosette using Lil' Inker Designs' Large Bow Die in the same colours to coordinate with the card. The striped paper is from Echo Park's Little Boy Collection.

Well, I need to head out. I just realized last night that I am the Growing in Unity Gal this week so I'll have loads of Unity posts for you. ;) See you tomorrow!
Sources for card: SU Pool Party; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; SU I Dig You; SU More Mustard, Pool Party & Crumb Cake inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Cavallini & Co. Numbers paper tape; foam tape
Sources for rosette: SU Pool Party, More Mustard & Crumb Cake cardstock; Echo Park In the Clouds from Little Boy Collection; Lil' Inker Designs Large Bow Die; Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large; Papertrey Ink By the Numbers die collection; foam tape

Be Happy

My mom and I rarely agree but she was right when she told me that despite my recent loss I have many reasons to be happy. I made this card to remind myself that I have a lot to be thankful for. I used four Hero Arts stamps: Pom Pom Flower, Single Starburst, Newspaper Skyline and Be Happy. The five colours are from the Hero Arts May Contest Color Challenge. When I first spied the Pom Pom Flower and Single Starburst in the 2012 Catalog, I wondered if they might work together for times when I didn't feel like colouring the flower. It turns out it works perfectly and brings more versatility to both the stamps. Using five colours on a clean and simple card turned out to be rather difficult. I tried two different combinations before I came up with this one. In the first two versions, the flower was too light and the background too dark. It was fun to play around with the scene. Fitting in the fifth colour was the trickiest part but I finally came up with the idea of halving the sentiment. This will be another one of my entries for Gallery Idol 2012.

Sources: SU Natural White cardstock; Hero Arts Pom Pom Flower, Single Starburst, Newspaper Skyline & Be Happy; Hero Arts Cup O' Joe, Pool, Soft Green, Butter Bar & Soft Apricot shadow inks; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher & staples

You're Smokin' Hot!

Kim shared this card on the Paper Smooches Blog on Tuesday. It features the grill, face and sentiment from Alfresco and the dotted line is from Santa Paws. I masked the eyes into the grill and coloured everything with Copic markers.

Have a very wonderful Friday! Does anyone have a barbeque planned for the weekend? ;)

Sources: SU Crumb Cake & Tempting Turquoise cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Paper Smooches Alfresco & Santa Paws; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Tangerine Tango ink; Copic markers; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Good Luck

I'm a couple of days late with this post for obvious reasons. I was supposed to join the Avocado Arts Crew Too gals on Tuesday with a post using the May release, Thoughts and Smiles. Last night, I was in the mood to make an encouragement card infused with humour. My husband thought I was being morbid but the lady bug isn't dead (it's still smiling)! It just flipped over and the sentiment is encouraging it to get back up on its feet. LOL

The leaves, tag, lady bug and polka dot border are from Thoughts and Smiles. The jar is from the January release, Sweet Treat Sweetie. The sentiment and rainbow anchor are from Avocado Style Borders and Sentiments. The tag is attached to the jar with burlap string and the jar is popped with foam tape. This will be one of my entries for Gallery Idol 2012.

If you'd like to purchase any of the sets I used, just click on the graphics. Avocado Arts would love to see you using their stamps! Remember, there's a publication incentive, too. ;) Don't forget to check out the following posts for amazing inspiration using Thoughts and Smiles!

Emily Branch

Kelley Eubanks

Savannah O'Gwynn

Sources: SU Sahara Sand cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Avocado Arts Thoughts and Smiles, Sweet Treat Sweetie & Avocado Style Borders and Sentiments; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts Soft Brown shadow ink; Copic markers; May Arts natural burlap string; foam tape; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Where The Heart Is: Part 2

"I don't like this day," is how perfectly my son summed up Monday, May 21st.

Thank you for the huge amount of love and support you've all given me in response to my May 19th post. Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a setback in my recovery. Last week, I had opted for the use of drugs as opposed to the surgical procedure and it went rather well. I thought I was feeling better over the weekend but when I woke up on Monday, I lost a tremendous amount of blood and had to go to the emergency room. I don't think I've been so frightened in my life. After some blood work, two pelvic exams and a dual ultrasound, it was determined that I had lost the remaining tissue and I was cleared to go home. They had prevented me from eating or drinking the entire time in case I had to have surgery and that amounted to a total of 17 hours so I was severely dehydrated and malnourished. I also had an IV tube put in my arm in case they had to use it. The nurse did me a favour by putting it in when she did the initial blood work so I wouldn't have to get pricked twice but it was no fun wearing that contraption for five hours without function. This whole experience brought back all the emotions that I thought I was done with a week ago. I really didn't want to cry about it again and of course now I'm feeling a lot worse than before physically. The ultrasound also showed something unusual so I hope I won't be getting any more bad news. All I want is to recover and be healthy and happy. It's hard not to think about the what ifs and what the future might hold but I'm trying to put that out of my mind until I am completely well again.

5-in-1

First, thank you all for being so supportive of yesterday's post in which I bared my soul. I wear my heart on my sleeve and, in dark times, I always feel better when I just say what's on my mind. I'm extremely touched by all of your sweet comments. Now, I do have five cards to share in this post so I'll try to keep it short! I had started this first card when I was making this card but when I finished it this morning, there was no doubt that I was in the mood to cheer myself up. :)

(1) Make card from white cardstock. (2) Stamp, color and fussy cut squirrel, hamster and hat. Assemble. (3) Trim small white mat and stamp bench and cloud. (4) Die cut postage frame and adhere to background. (5) Attach animals with foam tape. (6) Attach scene to card base and stamp sentiment. Finished size: 4” x 5 ½”

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (white) Gina K Designs, (raspberry jam from PB&J) Basic Grey; Clear Stamps: (squirrel from Hang Ups, hamster from Party Posse, hat from Chubby Chum Pals, cloud and sentiment from Sunny Side Up, bench from Promenade) Paper Smooches; Dye Ink: (Black) Tsukineko, (Cherry Cobbler, Tangerine Tango) Stampin' Up!; Color Medium: Copic markers; Dies: (Classic Squares Large, Postage Stamps) Spellbinders; Tool: (corner chomper) We R Memory Keepers

The following four cards were made months ago for various publication calls. Some of them were only submitted once while others were submitted several times and rejected multiple times so it's time to share them. To make it easy, I've just copied and pasted the information from the file I save my publication submissions to.

(1) Make card from kraft cardstock and sponge edges. (2) Stamp bandaid and sentiment on white cardstock, colour and trim. (3) Trim red, yellow and indigo cardstock pieces and assemble. (4) Attach assembled panel to card base using foam tape. Finished size: 4 ¼” x 5 ½”

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (kraft, white) Gina K Designs, (Real Red, So Saffron, Island Indigo) Stampin’ Up!; Clear Stamps: (bandaid, sentiment from Healthy Vibes) Paper Smooches; Dye Ink: (Black) Tsukineko, (Walnut Stain) Ranger Industries; Color Medium: Copic markers

(1) Make card from white cardstock. (2) Trim black mat and adhere to card. (3) Die cut snow globe and gray star burst. (4) Stamp and fussy cut boxing glove. (5) Stamp sentiment and sponge edges of snow globe base. (6) Assemble, adhere rhinestones and adhere to card with foam tape. Finished size: 3 ¾” x 5”

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (white, black) Gina K Designs, (textured white) American Crafts; Patterned Paper: (medium pink, light gray from Be Mine Collection) Echo Park; Clear Stamps: (boxing glove and sentiment from Hope) Paper Smooches; Dye Ink: (Black) Memories, (Worn Lipstick) Ranger Industries, (Pink Pirouette) Stampin’ Up!, (Bubble Gum) Hero Arts; Dies: (snow globe) amuse studio, (Limitless Layers: 1 ¾” Circle Collection) Papertrey Ink; Accent: (rhinestones) Stampin’ Up!

(1) Make card from kraft cardstock. (2) Stamp sun on cardstock and patterned paper, fussy cut and assemble. (3) Stamp giraffe twice on patterned paper, fussy cut and assemble. (4) Die cut clouds from cardstock. Stamp sentiment. (5) Arrange sun and clouds. Adhere to card, some with foam tape. (6) Stamp ferns along bottom edge of card. (7) Adhere giraffe to card with foam tape. Finished size: 4 ¼” x 5 ½”

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler) Stampin’ Up!, (black, ivory) Gina K Designs; Patterned Paper: (New York, Amsterdam, Tokyo from Boarding Pass) October Afternoon; Clear Stamps: (sun from Eco Friendly; sun’s face from Spring Fling; sentiment, giraffe and fern from Zoo Crew) Paper Smooches; Dye Ink: (black) Memories, (Crumb Cake) Stampin’ Up!; Die: (clouds) Lil’ Inker Designs

(1) Make card from cardstock. (2) Trim textured mats in light green, dark green and white. Cut arches using scissors and adhere all pieces to card base. (3) Stamp sentiment following curve. (4) Stamp golf cart three times on light green, patterned gray and white cardstock. Fussy cut, color and assemble. (5) Adhere golf cart to card with foam tape. Finished size: 4 ¼” x 5 ½”

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (light green, dark green, white) American Crafts, (white) Gina K Designs; Patterned Paper: (Ash from Be Mine Collection) Echo Park; Clear Stamps: (golf cart, sentiment from My Guy) Paper Smooches; Dye Ink: (Black) Memories, (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; Color Medium: Copic markers

Tomorrow is the Victoria Day holiday here. Hooray for a long weekend! I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and enjoy the start to your week.

Where The Heart Is

Please Note: Tissues May Be Required

It's true, I haven't been myself for more than two months. I mentioned exhaustion a few times and some of you made the connection. My whole life, I have always wanted at least two kids. I never thought I'd end up having a baby so late in life but things just worked out that way. My son is beautiful, funny, smart and wise beyond his years. He's everything I've ever wanted and more. I never stopped thinking about having a second after he was born. We were stuck in a condo for years longer than we wanted because we kept getting outbid on houses and there was very little inventory on the market in the areas with good schools. Finally, we bought a house last fall and recently felt settled enough to think about having another baby.

Even though I did feel that time was running out, I ended up feeling terrified when I found out I was pregnant. I had second doubts because of my age and I knew that having another caesarean was not going to be easy. My husband lovingly assured me that I was just in shock and that time would prove that it's what I really wanted. He was right and soon fear turned to excitement and happiness. Over the past two months, we mentioned the possibility of a little brother or sister to our son. At first, he was apprehensive but soon he started talking about it as if it was going to be a reality.

At my age, pregnancy is much harder that I imagined and of course it's been almost four years since I was last pregnant. Time makes a huge difference. I'd never felt exhaustion like that and that really hindered my creativity. I did my best to keep up with my design team work which was my priority. Anything above and beyond that was extra which meant skipping any creating for pleasure and even publication calls. I missed two of my favourites and that made me feel sad, even guilty. Crafty friends told me I was crazy to feel guilty. Maybe that's true but it's how I felt at the time. In hindsight, I can see how ridiculous that was.

I was already showing at two months. I couldn't believe how my belly just popped. When I was pregnant with my son, I didn't even show 'til I was four months along. When I went shopping for maternity clothes, I tried on quite a few tops but when I put on a dress and my son said, "Mommy, you look beautiful, like a princess!" Of course, my heart melted and I had to buy that dress. I couldn't wait to wear it.

About ten days ago, I had my first appointment with my obstetrician and that is always the most exciting appointment. My son and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. They let him move the monitor around and even squirt the gel for the ultrasound. Last weekend, I started getting signs that something was wrong but it wasn't alarming. Then on Monday, the real trouble began. I called my obstetrician and she immediately had me schedule an ultrasound. Needless to say, I started panicking.

On Tuesday, during the ultrasound, the technician's body language told me I was going to get bad news. My son asked her where the baby was and she shook her head. Then he said, "The baby's good at playing hide and seek." When she asked me if I would mind doing an internal ultrasound, too, I knew that couldn't be good. She had me change into a gown and my son said, "That's really unbeautiful, Mommy." I had to laugh at that. Afterwards, I promised to take my son to the toy shop since he was well-behaved. While he played, I fought back the tears. Whenever the salespeople walked by, I turned my head away and pretend I was looking at the other toys 'cause I was afraid the tears would just spill out.

When we got home, I called my obstetrician to get the results. She said that she was sorry but she didn't have good news. I had lost the baby. I felt strangely calm while she explained what may have happened but there really is no explanation for these sorts of things. I listened while she told me what needed to happen next and gave me options to choose from. I told her I would have to think about it and call her back. Then I sat down next to my son and told him. He could tell I was upset and asked me not to be upset. I couldn't stop the tears from pouring out at that point and I told him it was hard not to be upset. It was a big deal. He wrapped his arms around me and we just both cried. A little while later, I called my husband at the office to tell him. There were more tears and he said he would leave right after his meeting was over and come home early. Right after that, I called my mom and cried some more. At the end of the conversation, she told me that she just wanted me to be happy no matter what happens. When my husband got home, he took our son out so I could be alone. I deal with my emotions much better this way. I think I bawled my eyes out for a good three hours.

A couple days later, I was sad to think that I would never wear the dress that my son and I loved so much. The boutique normally doesn't take returns but when I explained what happened, they agreed to refund it for me. I hated that I would never get to wear it but I didn't want to keep it either because it would just be a sad reminder and the money was better spent elsewhere. Now my son refers to that dress as "the girl dress that we took back". I love that he can make me smile even when my heart is broken. Needless to say, we have really spoiled him these last few days.

So that's why I haven't been around much. After I'm done with the physical healing, I'm really looking forward to blog surfing and seeing what all of you have been up to. I'm starting to feel a little more creative so hopefully I can even start participating in challenges again. Just know that I appreciate all of your kind comments here on the blog and private emails of concern. It really shows that you care about me even though I've been entirely absent for almost three months now. I feel exceptionally lucky to have such wonderful friends. I love each and every one of you.

Every Little Thing

Here's a little peek at my card that is on the Hero Arts Blog today! Stop by to see it in full along with fabulous cards made by fellow Hostesses Cheiron, Kathy and Marcy! There may be a giveaway waiting there, too. ;) Thank you so much for stopping by today. Have a wonderful day!

Surprise

Kim shared this card on the Paper Smooches Blog yesterday. I used the cake and one of the flowers from Hubby and Wifey to make this birthday card which I gave to my husband last weekend. It's embellished with the squirrel from Hang Ups (the arms are from Wake Up), cake splatters from Surf & Turf, sentiment from Good Gab and speech bubble from He Said, She Said.

Sources: SU Natural White cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Basic Grey What's Up paper pad; Paper Smooches Hubby and Wifey, Hang Ups, Wake Up, Surf & Turf, Good Gab & He Said, She Said; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Pool Party & Calypso Coral inks; Copic markers; MFT Die-namics Wonky Scallop Border; foam tape

Card Creations, Volume 10 Winner

Good morning! I'm here to announce my winner from the Card Creations, Volume 10 Blog Hop on Friday and that lucky lady is:

Congratulations, Kathie! Please email me with your mailing address so we can get Card Creations, Volume 10 sent out to you right away. Thank you all for hopping along with us!

Just For You

Today, the entire Avocado Arts Pit Crew has loads of inspiration to share with you! We've all made cards featuring the May release, Thoughts and Smiles, with sneak peeks of the upcoming June release, Let's Catch Up! Please visit these amazing blogs for more inspiration:

Avocado Arts Blog
AJ Otto
Becky Oehlers
Emily Branch
---> Emily Leiphart <---
Julia Stainton
Kelley Eubanks
Latisha Yoast
Savannah O'Gwynn

This card uses the solid leaves from Thoughts and Smiles along with a hook, bow (tie) and bowl from Let's Catch Up! I turned what is supposed to be a fish bowl into a planter and hung it with the fish hook. I turned the bow tie upside down to make it look more like a ribbon bow. The sentiment is from Avocado Style Borders and Sentiments. I created a mask for the bowl and misted the centre to make it look like one of those painted ceramic pots so I'm going to link this up to Moxie Fab World's Spatter Technique Challenge. If you love Thoughts and Smiles for its femininity and cuteness, you are going to love the June set for its masculinity and whimsy!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white & kraft cardstock; SU Island Indigo cardstock; Avocado Arts Thoughts and Smiles, Let's Catch Up! (available June 1st) & Avocado Type Borders and Sentiments; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Wild Wasabi, Old Olive & Garden Green inks; Studio Calico Bonny Blue & Heirloom Blue Mister Huey's Color Mists; May Arts natural burlap string; foam tape

Paper Crafts magazine Presents: Card Creations, Volume 10 Blog Hop!

This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for my Lil' Inker Designs May Release Blog Hop {Day 5} post, please scroll down or CLICK HERE.

***

Hello and welcome to the Card Creations, Volume 10 Blog Hop! Have you seen the latest must-have special issue from Paper Crafts magazine? This is my first year being published in this annual issue and I'm delighted to be one of the 10 designers featured on today's hop:

Chan Vuong

Kalyn Kepner

Amber Daigre

Vanessa Menhorn

Cristina Kowalczyk

Angeline Yong Jeet Leen

Emily Branch

---> Emily Leiphart <---

Kelley Eubanks

Lindsay Amrhein

For this blog hop, the designers were asked to create a project or projects with a theme of 10. I gave this task quite a lot of thought. Not only is this my first time being published in Card Creations, this issue also marks the first time I've been published with Paper Smooches stamps so I decided to make a card using 10 Paper Smooches stamps from various sets!

Here's how I used them:

Get Outta Town: (1) postmark (as speed swooshes)
Hang Ups: (2) squirrel
He Said, She Said: (3) speech bubble
Hubby and Wifey: (4) wedding band (as steering wheel)
Party Posse: (5) hamster
Perpetual Bliss: (6) camera, (7) sentiment
Swanky Snowdudes: (8) mustache
Vogue Abode: (9) chair
Wake Up: (10) toaster (as car)

The squirrel's arms and tail were repositioned and his face was masked into the lens on the camera. He's taking photos of his silly hamster friend who's wearing a mustache and pretending that he's the world's best race car driver. I guess I've been watching too many episodes Toopy and Binoo with my son. LOL

All of the designers on this hop are giving away a copy of Card Creations, Volume 10 so be sure to leave a comment at each stop to increase your chances of winning a copy of this amazing issue! You have until 5:00 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 to comment. Please come back on Wednesday to find out if you are the lucky winner of Card Creations, Volume 10 from my blog. Have a lovely weekend and thank you so much for stopping by today!
Sources: SU Sahara Sand cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Basic Grey PB&J; Paper Smooches Get Outta Town, Hang Ups, He Said, She Said, Hubby and Wifey, Party Posse, Perpetual Bliss, Swanky Snowdudes, Vogue Abode & Wake Up; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Riding Hood Red & Tangerine Tango inks; Copic markers; Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large; foam tape

Lil' Inker Designs May Release Blog Hop {Day 5}

Welcome to {Day 5} of the Lil' Inker Designs May Release! If you came from Jen's blog, you are on the right track. If not, start at Laura's blog so you don't miss a thing! Today, the entire design team is showcasing Sentiment Flag Additions. The original Sentiment Flag set was one of the first released by Lil' Inker Designs. Now there are a bunch of fabulous new flags and sentiments, plus two additional dies including one for the post which I'm most ecstatic about!

I made a silly card that I could tuck into my husband's bag as a surprise. I used the post from the new Sentiment Flag Additions set as a straw. The face, coffee cup and cozy are from last month's release Coffee Cozy. The hair is the grass from Cutie Cat and the hearts are from Sweet Bee. The sentiment is also from the new Sentiment Flag Additions set.

Thank you so much for hopping with the design team all week for this release! Lil' Inker Designs is giving away one $10 store credit and one Sentiment Flags Additions set so be sure to comment on all of the design team blogs for your best chance to win one of these two fabulous prizes! Now it's time to head on over to Sarah's blog for more inspiration.

Sources: SU Crumb Cake cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white & kraft cardstock; Lil' Inker Designs Sentiment Flag Additions, Coffee Cozy, Cutie Cat & Sweet Bee; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Cherry Cobbler ink; Copic markers; SU 3/4" circle punch; foam tape