Sheetload of Cards June Ezine Sneak Peeks

Take a looksie at Sheetloads of Cards June sneak peeks. The June ezine download will go live on Monday, June 1.

Better yet, make sure to sign-up for the newsletter so that you will be sent a reminder to download issues every month. Alicia offers some fabulous prizes for Sheetload fans as well so make sure to sign-up as a follower too.

More Grad Cards...

"No more school, No more books, no more teachers, dirty looks..."

(remember kids singing this verse in movies when they get out of school???)

Today, marks the beginning of summer vacation...

I have 2 more grad cards to show you...the last two! Boy, oh, boy...I have never been this busy making cards the last few months. I feel like a cardmaking factory. Spring time is a busy time for me with Mother's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, teacher gifts, and graduation going on at what seems like all at the same time! And having all of these DT duties have been pushing my "arse" to get these cards done. But all of the effort is worth it since all of the cards and gifts are going to some very special people.

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge MMSC2

My hubby is the varsity baseball coach and some of the graduating seniors are on his team. So I thought it would be appropriate to use GinaK Designs Just So Sporty stamp set for a grad card. I really did not want to go the traditional route (like you've seen with the other two I made for the first Digiments release).

I've been looking for an excuse to use the Just So Sporty stamp set by Melanie Muenchinger from GinaK Designs and this was the inspiration I was looking for. This was also the first time I've used a CTMH set called Baseball. I've never owned a CTMH clear set until now but have always admired their stamp sets. I embossed kraft cardstock with the numbers collage embossing folder. I added a strip of summer sun on top of it. I added two strips of bordering blue cardstock and punched them with Fiskars apron lace (hope that doesn't make the card too girly). I layered a piece of ruby red cardstock and stamped the white layer with Cornish Heritage Farms Lined Paper background stamp - love love this stamp...it goes so great with school/office related projects. After using the spiral punch, I distressed the layer stamped with Lined Paper on the edges to make it look like it was just ripped out of a notebook. I added some string as an embellie on the bottom part. I stamped the t-shirt on kraft cardstock and sponged on some ruby red ink to give it some color. I stamped "All Star" with Palette New Canvas ink. I also used my white gel pen to highlight the collar as well as the stripes on the sleeves. To finish it off, I used my classic circle nesties to create the sentiment using the CTMH Baseball stamp set. To get two colors on the ball, I used SU markers and spritzed it with water before stamping which gave me a more distressed watercolored look. Then I stamped the "class of" and "09" from the Just So Sporty set on top of the baseball image. To make the baseball look like it was rolling around in dirt a little, I sponged a little bit of more mustard around the edges of the circle.

The card came together quickly using the sketch challenge, MMSC2, on the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge blog. The card uses the school colors: maroon and yellow (more mustard color). It took me a long time to figure out exactly what layout I was going to use. But, after browsing though the SCS gallery for inspiration, Priscilla, who started the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Blog, left a comment on one of my girl grad cards in my gallery and invited me to check out her new challenge blog and participate (thanks Priscilla!). I think I had until this past Tuesday to send a link to my card to enter her contest to win a whopping prize, but it tool me so long to get a pic of it. Oh well, will have to participate next time! Once I created the first card, it was a cinch to get the other 6 cards done in no time.

Stamps: GinaK Designs (Just So Sporty), CTMH (Baseball), Cornish Heritage Farms (Lined Paper)
Patterned Paper: None used
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up (Bashful Blue, Ruby Red), Unkown (White, Kraft)
Ink: Stampin’ Up (More Mustard, Ruby Red), Palette (Burnt Umber)
Die Cut: Nestabilities (Classic Circles), Cuttlebug (Number Collage)
Punch: Fiskars (Apron Lace)
Fiber: String

Jen Del Muro's SFYTT 5.23.09

This card was created following Jen Del Muro's sketch on 5.23.09. I just love participating in her sketch challenges. She posts new sketches every Saturday so make sure to sign-up for her newsletter so you can play along every week. I needed another girlie grad card and I hadn't used this grad digiment yet. This card showcases a simple but very powerful message. Again, I used the arabesque digi-stamp from Mel Stampz since I don't have the nesties label that looks like this one (not yet at least - LOL). But, seriously, Mel is so great at sharing! LOVE HER!

I love the papers I used on this card - just screams summer vacation and what better way to utilize it than on a grad card. I used the paper pleating method on the 2nd patterned paper layer. I had seen this technique on one of the Papercrafting Magazines last year and just now experimenting. I love the pleated look. My sewing machine is having a tantrum again so I had to improvise on how to adhere the pleats together and I just love the stitched look. Anyway, I ended up using double stick tape underneath and it held together quite well. I had to put some kind of stitching on there so I created two cross stitches using black crochet thread. I marked where I wanted the stitches first with a pencil and then used my paper piercer to poke the holes and used a mega thick needle to get through the paper. I think it turned out ok looking. I felt it needed something else so I added a circle behind the digiment to make it stand out a bit more. I used my nesties classic circle and lined it with some graph paper. I used my slit punch to create the scallops on the side of the card. Voila! Done...

Digital Images: Digiments (Graduation Day), Mel Stampz (Arabesque)
Patterned Paper: Vibrant Paper Pad, Unkown (Graph Paper)
Cardstock: Unkown
Ink: Stampin’ Up (Summer Sun)
Die Cut: Nestabilities (Classic Circles)
Punch: Stampin’ Up (Slit)
Ribbon: Wal-mart (Satin Green)
Stitching: Black Crochet Thread

Happy Birthday - Irish Blessing Digiments Challenge #2

SCS Challenge TLC 212

Better late than never...here is my sample card for the Digiments Challenge #2 that is going on this week. This challenge ends this Sunday and a new challenge will be posted next week.

I created this card using SCS Challenge Try a New Technique 212: Ribbon Frame. I've been wanting to use this technique since I first saw it posted on SCS and I finally had the chance to use it on this card. I normally don't use bright colors, but this card called for it. I based my colors from the ribbon I bought from Michael's awhile back. It was very hard not to use any kind of patterned paper on this since that is what I use on most of my cards.

This is also the first time I've used my Nesties curved rectangles and have been wanting to use those to make a different shaped card. You might not be able to see it well, but I embossed the 2nd layer (purple) with the textile embossing folder for added texture. I added some red rhinestones for some bling.

Digiments Challenge #2

Hey ya'll! Happy Wednesday! I didn't want to forget to post about the Digiments challenge #2 going on right now. Michelle will be posting a free digiment to work with every week until the new release - June 13 is the big day so mark your calendars!!!

All you have to do is make a card using the free digiment she's posted on the blog. Make sure you participate in as many as you can because she is offering once more the oompaloompa prize of winning the entire June release! But this time, she will be picking TWO winners. If you love her digiments, you will want to participate and win this one for sure! Michelle just keeps coming up with some pretty cool digiments versatile for any type of papercrafting project.

I am hoping to make a sample card this week using the free digiment since I did not get a chance to work on one for last week, but that will be in a later post...Until then, make sure to stop on by the Digiments blog to download the latest and greatest digiments up for grabs! So get your hiney over there and make a card or two...

DIGIMENTS CHALLENGE #2

Sheetload of Cards - May Challenges Reminder

There's still a chance to win some fabulous prizes over at Sheetload of Cards...

You have until the end of May to post for these challenges.

Show Us Your SheetLoad

Shout Out to SheetLoad

"Fan" Blog Candy

Last one - I promise!!!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! It's been nice and sunny here in my parts, but today it is cold again and gloomy - looks like heavy rain today - aarrgghhhh! I've got to finish some more grad cards. We accidentally missed two of the graduation parties already this weekend - ooopppppsss!

Now, for my last announcement...PROMISE! My dreams have finally come true and I went from applying to several different companies to being a design team member for 3 awesome companies! Judi Maddigan from Angels Landing has invited me to be part of her summer design team. I just loved working with Judi's images. They are so adorable and are so versatile as you've seen in some of my previous Angels Landing posts.

Take a looksie at the other gals who made the team...Make sure to stop by and give my other DT members some love! Look forward to working with all of them. Do you see a familiar name in the list? Yes, that is Jennifer Scull. I get to work side by side with Jennifer again.

Suzy Haghighi
Sparkle Smith
Lynn McAuley
Lauri Ingram

Jennifer Scull
Cheryl Walker

Cheryl Rowley

Angels Landing Summer Design Team Announcement

The Cat has been let out the bag...

As Alicia put it on her post on the Sheetload blog,

"as one door closes, another opens..."

Do you remember at the end of April, I created a post for a Sheetload DT submission??? Well, I received an email from Alicia a couple of weeks graciously letting me know I did not make it on the team. It was a disappointing time, but I have told myself that I would put another application the next time Sheetload had another DT call. Since then, it's been a a whirlwind of projects, but it's been fun creating!

With a twist of fate, I received an email from Alicia this weekend asking me to be part of the Sheetload Design Team. Of course, with no hesitation, I quickly accepted the position. Yay me!

One of the senior DT gals, Marlene Lo, is stepping down from her previous design team duties to focus on other obligations during this time. Marlene is a fabulous artist and will miss seeing her fabulous samples on the ezine.

I am so gitty with excitement that I will be part of one of the biggest challenge blogs on the net! I was just tickled pink when I found out I was one of her top choices...

Thanks Alicia for this great opportunity!!!

Click here for announcement on Sheetload

The last of End of Year Teacher Gifts...

Whew! I finally finished the other two end-of-year gifts that I wanted to give to my son's preschool teachers. I really like how the project and cards came out. The apples were a little tedious since there was a lot cutting as well as stitching all of the pieces, but it was well worth it. I had fun making them!

I can't believe our little buddy has grown up so fast! He is only 5 yrs old and already more than half my height. Yes, I am a shorty at a mere 5 feet tall, but hubby is 5'11 inches tall so he takes after dad - thank God! My daughter, on the other hand, is going to be a little shrimpy like me, but it's better to have the girl shorter than the boy, right???

So the ceremony is tomorrow night at 6pm so I needed to get these gifts completely done. I am gonna have to fight back the tears *sniff, sniff* when he gets up on their little stage. The kids have something cooked up for the parents so it will fun to see them altogether doing their show. Unfortunately, my hubby is the varsity baseball coach and his team has a double header game so I will be juggling between recording the graduation, taking pics and keeping an eye on my daughter - yikes! Hopefully everything will work out for me and I can get all of those things done.

Well, here they are...I am sure you are getting tired of seeing apple frames and cards, but I had to share the last two gift sets.

TECC68

The last card was inspired by Taylored Expressions sketch challenge #68. I have never participated in her sketch challenge and I really liked the sketch so I took a stab at it and this is the card that came of it.

If you would like to use the poem I used for the frames, you can find it here (scroll down to the bottom of the post). You can also see the first set I made for the Digiments release party.

I still have more grad cards to make so check back later...thanks for looking!!!

Digiments Challenge - CONTEST

Happy Monday!

Michelle, the owner of Digiments, thought it would be fun to offer a contest throughout the next several weeks before the next release. She will be posting free digiments for you to use and enter to win the grand ol' prize of the entire June release! If you've already seen the digiments from the first release, you won't want to miss this one either! At the end of the contest, 2 winners will be chosen - how exciting!!!

So come on over to the Digiments blog to check out the deets on the contest and enter your card today. Check out the fabulous samples that some of the DT members created. I'll be posting one too real soon!

If you are uploading to SCS, make sure to label you card DIG1 in the keywords so we can find all of the cards in the same place.

So what are you waiting for? Make a card already and enter yourself for a great prize!

DIGIMENTS CONTEST WEEK 1

Digiments May Release Recap...

Now that Digiments is finally open for business...I wanted to share the other cards/projects I made for the release. It's been so exciting to see all of the DT creations - everyone has been thinking out of the box on how to use the digiments. I am so grateful and lucky to be part of such a great team who can just make your jaw drop when you see their stuff!!! I am so happy for Michelle and her new digi shop. She will make a killing on the digiments. Not only are they affordable (only $1 per digiment or buy all 25 digiments for only $20), but they are instant gratifying. So, if you haven't checked out Digiments yet, make sure to stop on by and give Michelle some lovin'.

So, without further ado, here is a recap of all of the projects I made for the Digiments May release. I went a little gung ho and got crazy, but it was so much fun. There were so many thoughts and ideas going in my head - it can really make you CRAZY!

** SIMPLE THANKS **

Simple Thanks is a series of 11 Digiments

...thank you, Teacher Butterfly Card

...thank you, Teacher Apple and Frame Gift Set

With end of the year coming soon, I created 2 card samples and an altered item for the Simple Thanks Digiments series. I wanted to create something special for the 3 teachers at my son's preschool (I still have to work on the other 2 frames). This preschool came highly recommended by other parents and we made a wise choice in putting our son there before starting kindergarten. So to show our appreciation, I created a matching apple frame with the following poem:

Although you are not their mother
You care for them each day.

You cuddle, sing and read to them
And watch them as they play.

You see each new accomplishment
You help them grow and learn.

You understand their language,
You listen with concern.

They come to you for comfort,
And you kiss away their tears.

They proudly show their work to you
You give the loudest cheers!

No, you are not their mother,
But your role is just as strong.

You nurture them and keep them safe
Though maybe not for long.

You know someday the time may come
When you will have to part.

But you know each child you cared for
Is forever in your heart!

I found this searching for ideas in the SCS gallery. Since the kids were wee little ones, I've been wanting to make gift sets for the teachers so here was my chance to do just that. I might end up making other things to go with the frame and cards, but this will do for now. We'll see if I have any more time to make extra gifts. This poem truly describes how we feel about the teachers because they are more than that.

...thank you, Friend & ...thank you for everything Notecard Gift Set

Digiments - Graduation Day

** GRADUATION DAY **

Graduation Day is a series of 3 sentiments

You did it! Congrats Graduate Grad Card

The tassel was worth the hassle Grad Card

With end of school coming up, not only are there end of year gifts for teachers, but graduation. My hubby is a high school math teacher and varsity baseball coach so you can just imagine how many invites we already have. We probably have received about 10 of them sent to our home and he probably has some stashed in his bookbag at school that were hand delivered. We live in a small town so things like this are a BIG deal around here. Well, it should be a big deal! One moment, you are going to preschool, kindergarten and then BAM! off to college. For some of these kids, it's off to help out on their parents farm. So to kick off the Graduation Day series, I created two feminine cards.

For the "You did it! Congrats Graduate" card...I stamped on a piece of transparency with Palette Noir ink (heat dry so that image does not smear) and used the Fancy Pants clear stamp set (the one that comes in a 12x12 set). For some depth, I doodled with a white gel pen around the flourishes. I love butterflies so I stamped one on top of the flourishesn using Pallete L'Amore Red ink and again used a heat gun to dry ink. Transparencies are hard to adhere because it is see-through. A great solution to this problem is to machine stitch all around the edge. This way you won't need to use any kind of adhesive. You only need to be careful when stitching with a machine, because since it is not adhered to anything, you have to keep the transparency placed where you want it on the cardstock and hold it straight and tight until you have one side done. I adhered a solid colored patterned paper on the inside and printed off the digiment. To finish off the card, I added a black grossgrain ribbon at the top. Voila! Instant grad card...

For the "The tassel was worth the hassle. Congratulations!" card...I cased a simple one from Papercrafts Magazine August/September 2008 issuen (Crazy for Coloring Book article) using some simple colors and black to make it pop! I created a background "dream big" on the white panel using an outline font called Sketchy Times from dafont.com. I colored in just one phrase to highlight it with a Stampin Up marker. I topped it off with a polka dot satin ribbon, prima flowers, and a digiment tag held by the string. Digital images are becoming such a rage these days and it was fun coloring in the outline letters.

Digiments - Birthday Expressions

** BIRTHDAY EXPRESSIONS **

Birthday Expressions is a series of 3 digiments

You're not getting older, you're getting better. Happy Birthday! Card

You're not getting older, you're getting better. Happy Birthday! Notecard Gift Set

Digiments - NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS and One More Sneak Peak...

Yay Digiments! Today is the day... Digiments Grand Opening! The wait is over...you can finally check out the big buzz around digital sentiments! Stay awhile and check it out and while you're at it, purchase some for yourself and try it out. The DT members have outdone themselves with the creative uses for the digiments.

Here is my Grand Opening Sneak Peak for today... a birthday gift set with notecards. I created this gift set of notecards to send to my hubby's aunt. She is always so thoughtful and always remembers us on those special ocassions. So for her birthday, it was just appropriate to send her something she can use and to show you how versatile these digiments can be.

I used the same patterned paper as the birthday card I posted yesterday. It was a nice and bright like DH's aunt. I found this tutorial for "no tools flower" on Joanne's Mainly Flowers blog. I had seen this flower on SCS when I was browsing the gallery and it caught my eye. Luckily, she was nice enough to share a tutorial on how she creates all of her lovely flowers on her cards. She makes them look so real and also uses tools that you could have already laying around at home - added bonus! To add a little more pizazz to the gift set, I added a blue flower with some bling in the middle and a pink scalloped border. I added a fun stitch around the card too. I really need to work on my sewing. I pierced all the way around the sentiment for added depth. I created a double pocket bag to keep the notecards, envie and matching pen in. For the notecards, it was created like a postcard and the sentiments "...thank you, Friend" and "...thank you for everything." was added on the front panel. This a good change from your traditional A2 notecards. Each notecard has some added zigzag stitching. Believe me, it took awhile to get just the notecards done because my sewing machine decided to have a tantrum that day and not work! It was a long and frustrating time so after threading and rethreading and changing the needle...finally worked like a charm!

So that is it for now! I will be working on more digiments in the next week or two for Father's Day and graduation so no sleep for the weary this month - check back laters. I love working with Michelle's digiments and so will you.

What are you waiting for??? Get yourself over to the Digiments blog and drool like crazy!

Digiments Sneak Peak Day 2

Hi ya'll! I have been having so much fun playing with Michelle's digital sentiments aka Digiments (catchy name isn't it?). Only one more day till the BIG release! Woo Hoo! Michelle has only been making cards for 4 months and the girl has some major cardmaking talent. Now she is opening up a one of a kind store that sells digital sentiments for an affordable price. So on May 13 (that's tomorrow) make sure to stop by the Digiments blog to check out some awesome goodness. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. You also still have time to participate in the Digiments contest to win the entire May release! How cool is that? You'll be one of the first ones to own a set of digiments.

For today's sneak peak, I created a birthday card. I am not sure who I am going to send this to yet, but the digiment was so much fun. You can never have too many birthday cards - they seem to pop up when you least expect it. This is just a simple one with some stitching and I created some depth to the main focus of the card (the sentiment) by using the Faux Silk technique. After I was done, it looked like it needed something on the upper right hand corner so I added 3 little clear mini decorative accents (aka skittles) to finish off the card.

Tomorrow is the grand opening of Digiments so come on by and take a looksie!!! Look forward to seeing you there...

Sneak Peaks - Digiments Style!

Happy Monday morning to all!

Michelle gave all of the DT members her blessing to let ya'll take a sneak peak at some of her wonderful digital sentiments. Digiments grand opening will be on May 13 so make sure to stop by and see the wonderful "digiments" that Michelle came up with.

Today, my samples come from the Simply Thanks Digiments line. Preschool graduation is coming up in two weeks so I thought it would be appropriate to make some thank you cards for the teachers. I had fun playing with the sentiment, "...thank you, Teacher."

For the first card, I did a little playing around with the sentiment and printed it on vellum. I had this idea in my head to kind of create a background with the sentiment and this is what I came up with. I was still kind of in the butterfly mode that I cut out a butterfly image from the vellum and added clear mini decorative accents in the middle for its body. I used some Springy colors to coordinate with the whole butterfly theme.

SFYTT 5.9.09

I hadn't participated in Jen del Muro's sketch challenge in awhile so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to play. I had seen so many great teacher cards on SCS and thought it would be cute to make an apple card. I hand drew the apple, stem and leaf on printer paper and scanned it. I wanted it to be resizeable so by scanning it and saving it as jpeg, you can do just that. I'll post the scanned image later once I get that all cleaned up and maybe a little tutorial. I guess I created my first digital image - yay me! I cut out the size apple I wanted from cardstock and with a little help from some felt pieces, I was able to create a 3D apple embellie. I even added my own stitching on the apple to give it more depth (thanks Mel for the encouragement). I also added some zig zag machine stitching on the card as well.

Well, that is it for now...will have some more sneak peaks for you later. In the meantime, make sure to stop by the other DT blogs to see what they have come up with.

Jennifer Scull
Morgaine Ford-Workman
Jessica Moyer
Rebecca Jensen
Kerri Michaud
Leigh Ann Baird
Amy Duff
Jennifer Wuthrich
Amber Hight

Digiments Contest Ending Soon!!!

Hurry! Hurry! If you haven't had a chance to participate in a digital challenge...this is your chance. All you have to do is create a card (or cards) using the sentiment that Michelle has posted on the Digiments blog. The contest ends Tuesday night! I am guessing that Michelle will be announcing the winner on Wednesday during the release. If your card is chosen, you can win the entire new release of digital sentiments. Let me tell ya, you don't want to miss this whopping prize!

DIGIMENTS CONTEST INFO

A Wonderful Mother's Day...

It was a wonderful day yesterday...not because it was Mom's day, but for 10 specific reasons:

1) We finally had some nice weather here in MN - close to 60 degrees. Yes, we Minnesotans celebrate days when we get full sun coverage ALL DAY! In fact it was so nice or nice enough that some people went out in shorts.

2) My son made me a gift at preschool. They created this concrete garden stake for all of the Moms.

3) My son brought me breakfast in bed. He must have heard my hubby tell me that he would serve me breakfast in bed (I'd be too scared that something might spill on the bed so I told him I would settle for his world famous breakfast and eat at the table). My son brought me a banana and raisins. Then he created some fake tickets to a Bionicles show he put together after breakfast or rather brunch. He put on some background music from Prehistoric Animals DVD and created a scene with all of his Bionicles characters. He even made some fake money so we could buy something to eat while we watched. It was all so cleverly planned! LOL!

4) My hubby gave me a card with the most thoughtful note in it. He is so good with words and I started crying.

5) My hubby made his world famous breakfast. It consists of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. He used to make it every weekend for us when we used to live in IL. But since becoming a teacher, he seldom makes it since he goes to work even on the weekends. So it was a special treat...I never let him near the stove unless he is cooking his world famous breakfast - LOL!

6) I told my hubby that I didn't want flowers for Mother's Day since they don't last very long so he suggested that he get me flowers to grow outside. So we took a trip to Home Depot and bought some flowers - not really knowing exactly what I was picking out but nontheless bought some. We'll see how long these last - teehee!

7) Joann's had a sale on crochet thread so I bought some more colors to make more crochet fleurettes. I bought a few colored ones so you will be seeing them on my cards soon. They also had the value pack cardstock on sale for $1.99 so that was a bonus too!

8) I went back to Target and bought the rest of the $1 autograph frames they had. You can't beat a buck for a frame!

9) After all of the store hopping, we went out to dinner. We have been wanting to go to this restaurant called Ground Round in town. Our tummies were rumbling so by the time our food came, the kids just scarfed down their food. I, of course, the meat eater that I am, ordered a big plate of Steak Gorgonzola. It was good and I licked the plate clean (ok, I really didn't do that, but nothing was left on my plate except the baked potato skin).

10) And last but not least, I got to spend it with my most favorite people...my hubby and kids! They are the best!

It was really late by the time we got home, but it was one of the best Mother's Day! I hope everyone's day was just as special as mine.

Happy Mother's Day

Sending a wonderful wish to all of the mothers out there! Have a fantastic day! I hope you get to do something special today...

More Mom's Day Cards and a Project to share...

Ok, I started with only 3 cards to send out (one for my MIL and my Mom and another for my Aunt in OH) and then, of course, days later...there was no way I forgot the great grandmothers and my sister. So 3 became 6! I wish I could make a card for all of the great mothers out there! This was a great way to use up some of my scraps too. I just loved the layout I used from my Sheetload audition cards that I ended up using them on all of the other cards. I also love butterflies and how it came out on each card. Butterflies can symbolize so many things.

The first card was sent to my sister. I found the perfect sentiment from Papercrafts Magazine (May-June) issue. The sentiment reads:

When you are Mother,

You are never really alone in your thoughts.

A mother always has to think twice.

Once for herself and once for her child.

- Sophia Loren

My sister has a two year old daughter and became a mother at a young age (by choice). She is happily married and trying to get her life on the right path (she is finishing up school to become a nurse). Now that she has a lot to juggle so much in her life, she has great responsibility to be a good role model for her daughter. But it seems like she has her life in order and striving for a better life.

These two cards were sent to the great grandmothers. It's been a blessing to have them in our lives and they are still around to see the kids grow up. So I wanted to make sure they knew they were thought of on Mother's Day.

This is the matching frame for the card I made here. I didn't want to just send my aunt a card because she means so much to me. She is like my second Mom. So I wanted to make her something she can cherish for a long time and know that she is thought of all of the time. I bought the frame from Target's $1 spot (autograph frames). I bought 4 of them and will probably be going back for more since they are inexpensive and the perfect size for a project like this.

digital images: digiments (scripture sentiment); melstampz (roses, sewing pattern text, arabesque keyhole); sentiment: computer generated paper: magnolia dp; yellow/white/kraft cs ink: tim holtz distress ink (antique linen); stampin' up (ruby red, old olive, pink passion) accessories: stampin' up (slit for scallop border); panacea decorative accents (clear mini accents); janome mini sewing machine (zigzag stitch); $1autograph frame from target; crochet fleurette; button; chipboard butterfly; cuttlebug embossing folder (script); craft wire for butterfly antennae

Digiments Shop Opening Soon! And More...

Hi all! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday! Michelle, the owner of Digiments, is opening up her new store soon! Yay Michelle! Make sure to stop by on May 13 to browse through her first release of digital sentiments (great idea Michelle...what a concept!). She has come up with a lot of sentiment goodness so make sure to mark your calendars!

In the meantime, you can check out the Digiments blog for the new DT members who will be making some fabulous samples with the sentiments. We all have different creative talents so you will see a huge array of styles using the sentiments...I say the more styles, the better, the merrier! Without further ado, here they are...

Alma Olhava - me!

Jennifer Scull

Morgaine Ford-Workman

Jessica Moyer

Rebecca Jensen

Kerri Michaud

Leigh Ann Baird

Amy Duff

Jennifer Wuthrich

Amber Hight

Make sure to stop by their blogs and give em' some lovin'...

Now for the juicy part of my post...

Michelle is holding a contest on her blog! She is giving away the entire new release to the winner! Woo Hoo! You seriously don't wanna miss this one!!! All you have to do is make a card using the sentiment that she has posted on her blog and link it to Mr. Linky. To increase your chances of winning, you are free to turn in more than one card! Oh, the many possibilities of this sentiment. Hint, hint...this would be great to use for a graduation card - very inspiring!

DIGIMENTS CONTEST INFO

Congrats to our Little Wallaby

SCS Challenge LSC218

This is a card I made for my son's preschool graduation. They are going to have a little ceremony and wear little graduation hats - he'll look so darling! Then he asked if we could bring him to a Chinese Buffet restaurant afterwards to celebrate...who can say no to all you can eat buffet??? At one point, he thought we were taking his whole class - LOL!

I created this for the SCS Challenge Limited Supply Challenge 218: Border Crossing. I created a border using an alphabet stamp set from Inkadinkado. I can't get enough of Angel's Landing Aussie Animals digital set. They are just so adorable! The wallaby image was flipped so that it looked like the parents were lifting up their little wallaby. The sentiment is computer generated sponged with Barely Banana. A baby wallaby is normally called a "joey", but I did not want to confuse my 5 year old son so I stuck with "little wallaby" instead. I sponged Bashful Blue and Barely Banana for the background to make it look like the sun is shining on our little graduate. I originally computer generated "Hop Your Way Into Kindergarten" as an added embellie sentiment but liked it better tucked behind the main image so I kept the word "kindergarten" to finish off the main image. For the faux lined paper, I used a background stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms inked with Bordering Blue and distressed with Antique Linen and used the spiral punch to make it look like a torn notebook page. I didn't think I could achieve a vintage look with the Aussie Animals set but I was successful linking cuteness with vintage on this one. I based my coloring of the wallabies from a sample card created by owner Judi Maddigan. She has fabulous watercoloring techniques!

For my son's graduation presents, he will be getting Bionicle action figure which he will be picking out himself and a set of Bionicle books that we purchased from eBay (he has no idea he is getting this one yet - ssssshhhhhh!). Our little man (wallaby) is growing up way too fast. It's going to be hard to keep the tears in when I see him go up on the stage.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend so far. We will be heading out in a bit - it's going to reach 60 degrees today (which is the warmest it's been here in Minnesota, eh?).

digital images: angel's landing aussie animals stamps: inkadinkado formal alphabet letters , cornish heritage farms lined paper paper: bashful blue/rose red/white/yellow cs ink: tim holtz distress ink (antique linen), stampin up (bashful blue, barely banana, creamy caramel, pretty in pink, close to cocoa, pastels for cheeks and inside of ears), palette (burnt umber) accessories: button, classic circle nesties, string, 3M mounting tape, glue dots, cuttlebug embossing folder (tiny bubbles); inside panel: stitching with janome mini sewing machine

Drumroll Please....

I have a quick announcement today....my stroke of luck is finally turning around! Michelle Philippi invited me to be part of her new online store called Digiments. I am so excited to be part of something so new! Michelle has cooked up some great digital sentiments. The design team will be working on some sneak peaks in the next week so watch for them soon!

Thanks Michelle for giving me this opportunity!

Everyone have a great weekend!

I Thank God For You

I wanted to create a separate post for this particular card. Not only did I use this card for a submission for Sheetloads of Cards DT call, but I also created this card for an up and coming digital stamp company called Digiments. This is based on the sketch from Sheetload of Cards January issue. Eventhough I used other digital images (digital roses. sewing text) on the card from Mel Stampz, the focal point is the sentiment. The sentiment ties the whole card together. I just love this sentiment simply because this is something I would say to my hubby and my kids all of the time. I am truly very blessed to have a great and loving family. There is not one moment we don't do things without each other.

This particular card will be sent to my Aunt who lives in Ohio. She is like my second Mom. Before moving to Ohio, she lived in Pennsylvania for a while. In college, I was in offered an internship in Pennsylvania at the end of my senior year and every weekend I would drive an hour towards my aunt's house. She cooked me my favorite foods and we did alot of girlie stuff together (like painting our nails and going to the mall). She has two grown boys of her own so I think being there for that one summer made it a special memory for the both of us. To this day, we still manage to catch-up on things and she has been very supportive. I can tell her practically anything and she would give me an honest answer or advice.

I thank God everyday for bringing these people into my life...

Digital Images: Digiments (Scripture sentiment), Melstampz (Roses, Sewing Pattern Text); Patterned Paper: Magnolia; Cardstock: Unkown (Yellow), Georgia Pacific (White), Unkown (Kraft); Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen), Stampin' up (Ruby Red, Old Olive, Pink Passion); Accessories: Punch: Stampin' Up (Slit for Scallop Border); Flower Center: Panacea Decorative Accents (Clear Mini Accents); Stitching: Janome Mini Sewing Machine (Zigzag)