Love in Variations...

You would think that with all the Valentine stuff I've been posting lately that I'm a romantic, but honestly, I'm not. I have a terrible time remembering dates and special occasions and if it weren't for the genius who invented post it notes, I'd forget my own name.  

I may not agree with being forced to smother your special squeeze with over sized teddy bears and aid in their eventual diabetes with the mammoth box of chocolates on one specified day, but I do agree with appreciating them all the time, so I've made cards that can be given year around.  

Flag Love

Simple Flowers

Hearts Abounding

Shabby Chicish

Bicycle Love

Heart Shaped Love

Just a few ideas to share.

Hope you enjoyed them and thank you so much for your visits.

Hugs n' Happy stamping...

Lisa x

Beautiful Rose...

Spring began with snow and has graduated into torrential downpours of precipitation in the form of rain and hail, so what better way to remind yourself of the beautiful flowers awaiting you when mother nature decides to cooperate, than to play around with decoupaged paper roses? 

It's another showcase week at The Cutting Cafe and this time Regina has created the gorgeous 

Beautiful Rose Printable Stamp Set.  

The country girl in me came out on this card ...hope you like it. 

A closer look of four printed images, colored in Copics, dry embossed and reassembled .

There's always someone in your life who loves flowers, so pop on over to The Cutting Cafe and see all the designs included in this stamp set.

Thanks for visiting me,

hugs n' happy stamping...

Lisa x

It's true...I do

If I haven't said it in awhile, I do...I really do!  :)

Attempting to put four challenges together on one card, here's the sweet little image Going Up from Mo's Digital pencil colored in copics as she soars through the sky with her endearing sentiment.  I had the best time making this card along side the designers at Catered Crop and a huge thank you goes out to them for selecting one of my cards as their winning recipe.  The current recipe is to Frame It! I am also playing along in the Cupcake Inspirations 200 Blog Hop.  Unbelievable amounts of  'GASP..that's gorgeous' from all the DTs and this card is being paired up with the #5 cupcake inspiration photo.

Something about the simplicity of the design and the amazing colors together really caught my eye. 

 I also filled this card with love; fitting for the task at ABC Challenge, I for In Love.  Lastly, but not least, this all came together with the sensational help from Cardabilities Sketch #70.  

So many thanks for your visit and very sweet comments.

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

Finally...An Alarm Clock I Like

Time is ticking down to the day of adorning yourself in hues of green, taking the "kids" ['cause you know you REALLY want one] through the McDonald's drive thru for a green milkshake, kissing the ones you love and hopefully...finally finding that ever elusive pot o' gold!

In the meantime, the lovely and talented crew at The Cutting Cafe are gearing up for St. Patrick's Day and by golly do we have a lineup for you.  Here is my card for your inspiration. 

I've used the following sets:  

ALARM CLOCK SHAPED CARD...TEMPLATE - CUTTING FILE 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY HERSHEY KISS BOTTOMS PRINTABLE SET

Swing on by the Cutting Cafe 

and if you're in a 'pinch' for some great St. Patty's Day ideas, 

the cafe is the place to be. 

Hugs n' Happy Cutting,

Lisa xx

I'm Nuts About You...

Alright, I'm just going to get this out of the way first thing...

A group of chess enthusiasts had checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. Soon the manager came out and asked them to disperse. "But why?," one asked."Because," he said, "I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer."

Bwhahahahahaha! 

Oh, I love that nut joke. Okay, moving right along to the card. It's a NUT!  Thank you Tammy for sponsoring our challenge TAG, You're It! at Top Tip Tuesday this time around.  Tammy is the mastermind of Shape EZ cards and this precious chunk o' protein is called Nutty Card.  The cut file comes with the folded card base, base toppers and leaves.  The cute little cuddly squirrels are a print and cut file from the Silhouette Studio called Timmy Tiptoes under umbrella from Beatrix Potter.  If you like this, you're gonna love the other creations from my teamies and our tips on this, that n' the other too!  So head on over to the Tag, You're It challenge and be in the running for a prize from Shape EZ and Sweet Stamps.

Thanks so much for your visit.

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

Owl Always Be Yours...

Dutch Dare Card Challenges is hosting the theme of Winged Things this week and thank you goes out to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps for sponsoring this week with this cute little image Opal Owl.  

I decided to play around with copics and the colorless blender and had a great time creating black and white polka dots on this little hoot that is sending a message of love. The inside of the card says, "Owl Always Be Yours." Awww.....

Thank you for your visit and come on over and join in the Winged Things Challenge.

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

Gimme Gimme Layers....

Who doesn't love layers? I love layers of chocolate in a cake, I love layers of cash when I'm crafty shopping and I certainly love layers on a card! So YEAH that Top Tip Tuesday is hosting this round of a challenge with Lavishly Luscious Layers!  This card has my lucky number of 13 layers all set together to show off the ever fabulous looking JJ from Bugaboo Stamps. You can find her here if you fancy, for the month of February.

This would be the perfect time to use up some of your scraps too! So come on down to Top Tip Tuesday and be in the running for prizes from the gracious Sponsors; Bugaboo Stamps and Fred She Said!  Also, don't forget to leave your TIPS!  

Thank you so much for stopping in today and I hope you're week is going well.

Hugs n' Happy Layering...

Lisa xx

It All Started With Tax Evasion...

Everybody loves a good romance and this darling couple, Morris and Mildred take the cake!

30 year old Mildred was swept off her feet by 92 year old Morris and their friendship bloomed into love after their first "smooch." So I thought it fitting to place them center stage on a SMOOCH shaped card from The Cutting Cafe.  The lips come with the set too!

Now, back to the story...

You see Mildred was engaged to to Morris' younger brother Stanley and one week before their enchanted wedding, Stanley was arrested for tax evasion and went to jail, directly to jail and couldn't even pass go.

The townsfolk were mortified as Stanley was always such a fine upstanding citizen and he had just recently purchased a monopoly of  abandoned shops on Boardwalk with the intention to remodel and bring in a strip mall.  No one was more horrified than poor Mildred.

But time passed and her friendship with Stanley's older brother, much older, flourished into a romance of trust, love and diligently filing taxes every year.  

The two were wed on Stanley's release date from jail and spent the next 2 weeks in Fiji for their honeymoon.

Stanley on the other hand, accessed his Swiss bank account and bought a small island and was never seen or heard from again....

Thank you AGAIN, goes out to Dr. Digi's House Of Stamps for creating the most creative and humorous digital images that really leave the possibilities endless....

Stop on by his store and see the latest releases and grab this little cute couple Morris and Mildred for yourselves.

Hugs n' Happy Filing Your Tax Returns,

Lisa xx

I Choose You...

This image is so wonderful. 

It's called Oh, Please Be Mine from the ever amazing artist Lynne Stansbery and  fits perfectly for our challenge over at Squigglefly of Winter Blues. You can make a winter themed card or a card that focuses on the color blue or combine the two.  I decided that the wonderful image needed to be the very prominent feature so I pierced holes all the way around the die cut heart and crocheted a blue frame. Added several blue variation flowers and a matching sentiment at the bottom. The heart is actually mounted on foam squares so that it can be removed and hung anywhere that the recipient chooses.  

So many terrific options to choose from on this challenge so we'd love for you to visit. Here's one more bit of  handy dandy news too.

Squigglefly Reward Program

The reward program is free to join and is a great way to earn free images. For every $15.00 you spend you will earn a free image. You can use the free image immediately, or save up and go for a big splurge one day. They never expire. Another thing that's really great is that if you are just now finding out about the rewards program, and you've already purchased images - Squigglefly will credit you any money spent in the current month! So stop in and see the incredible images from Lynne Stansbery and ALL the other fabulous array of talented artists!

Have a brilliant and creative day,

Lisa xx

Sunshine Fairies & Scrabble Bingo

 What happens when you get all your new crafty stuff out and put it right in front of you to make a card? You about lose your mind, that's what. Too too much cool stuff and not that having stuff is a problem, it's just resisting the urge to throw it ALL on the card together. After pacing and picking, eliminating and scratching head, I decided to use these groovy pom poms that Mom gave me for Christmas.  A "fairly" CAS card using the beautiful image from Nicecrane Designs titled Funny Fairies.

This is another set of fairies from Nicecrane Designs as well and I've combined them with a quirky game of Scrabble Bingo. Thank you Mitra for the coolest jar of buttons and Scrabble pieces ever!  This combo might make a cute Valentine card or a new baby card.

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping...

Lisa xx

Love Potion #9

After years of suggesting that they needed to spice up their love life, Nina finally gives in.  She tells her man to go wait in the bedroom and play the role of the poor sick patient and the nurse will be right in to make it all better.  Judging by the look on her face and the size of that needle, Mr. Man Flu is probably wishing he'd just kept his mouth shut.  

Turn and cough sweetie and when you're done, this will only hurt A LOT! 

I know, I know, it's not the "traditional" Valentine's Day card, BUT, when you combine the amazing digital stamp Man Flu with Night Nurse Nina, it just makes sense that it should be a silly celebration of love.

Thank you goes out to Dr. Digi's House of Stamps for creating the most wonderful interactive images that allow for tons of fun and a little quirkiness. 

Stop on by his store and see for yourself!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping....

Lisa xx

Challenges I would LOVE to enter this card in:
Craft-room Challenges - Valentines (2w/3e)
TTCRD#52 - Anything Goes (3e/w)

Vroom, Vroom Valentine...

Soooo....the other night in the living room, the family is sitting around the fireplace just chilling together and yet another odd conversation began, this time about cheesy pick up lines.  By the end of night and after literally hearing hundreds of them, I was torn between hysterical laughter and feeling nauseated.  I think my favorite was,

 "I'm glad I have my library card because I'm checking you out."  

I think we can all agree that 99% of them cause us to throw up a little...

I seriously feel for the poor young lady who gets approached with this one,

 "Those must be space pants you're wearing because they make your butt look out of this world!"

I think it would be a riot to make Valentine cards with the most outrageous pick up phrases, BUT...save back a few of the more classic reserved kind like my card here for The Cutting Cafe.

I've used Regina's awesome set Feb 14 with loads and loads of digital stamps, sentiments, and just plain cute stuff!  

They all come in black and white and color. All in all the set includes 82 elements to choose from.

Here's a sneak peek...

Thank you SO much for your visit and before you go, I'll depart with one last one...

"Your Daddy must own Campbell's Soup because you're lookin' mmmm mmmm good!" LOL!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

X's and O's

Hello lovely people!

Here is my DT card for Our Creative Corner where the challenge is...

Aqua and Pink 

Hosted by our own very talented Sharon Wheet who asks that you also include a flower.  

Please join us for our new year of challenges and while you're there, you'll enjoy the immensely creative ideas from my teammates. 

Thank you so much for stopping in today!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping...

Lisa xx

Supplies Used:

Aqua Paper free from online Vintage Embellishments

Free SVG cutting file at Bird's Cards

Pink and Aqua heart with flowers from Free Pretty Things For You

Pink ribbon from The Funkie Junkie Boutique
Aqua Corduroy brad from Fancy Pants Designs

I "El-Oh-Vee-Ee" You...

Firstly, "Happy New Year!!!"

Secondly, welcome back to my very first DT post for The Cutting Cafe.  I'm tickled pink, just like little Cupie here, to have been selected to work with Regina and her fabulous team! 

This card debuts the It's All About Love printable stamp set.  

This background printable worked perfectly for the backdrop of the card.

The sentiment phrase is highlighted next to the soft felt heart.

LOVE was designed on my PC using the free dafont.com website where I downloaded Drifttype and merged it digitally with free papers from Free Vintage Digital Stamps.

The Cupie doll is colored in copics and is from a set I've had for ages.

Hope you enjoyed the card and I wish you all the very best of 2013!!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

You Turn Me On...

I'm sort of moving a bit fast forward on the holidays here, but thought a change of pace from making Christmas cards would be nice, so we're visiting another favorite holiday of mine, Valentine's Day.  For those of us who enjoy making cards for our main squeezes, but find it difficult to make it 'masculine', I'm hoping this offers you some worthy inspiration.  It's a bit grungy with a hint of flirty fun.

This card would not have been possible were it not for the cool little section over at Dr. Digi's House of Stamps, titled Bits n' Bobs.  Dr. Digi himself has offered up a collection of singular 'prop' images to use however your creativity sees fit.  The image I selected is none other than the Lamp, which I have paper pieced the lampshades.

The card didn't start out this way. It was by mere frustration with the original design that I tore off the first attempt and what was left remaining was this tattered musical sheet and it was PERFECT!  See the wording that remained in tact? Golden light...lamp?...awesome!

No card is ever complete without a little gift of love and appreciation, so I mimicked the card by decorating the box likewise.

Again, tearing the sheet music, bottom right you'll notice the words, "home in my heart." I know right? Go ahead, you can say it... "Awwwww."

 And to replicate the flirty fun, I found this vintage light bulb ad and added a sentiment from another add.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing this card and it's given you some ideas for making a Valentine card for your "Shmooky Pooky Woo-Woo Teddy Bear".. or whatever you call them. LOL!

Stop on by and say hi and check out the Bits n' Bobs and whatnot's, you won't be disappointed!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

Where the heart loves...

Boy, oh boy, did I do some walking on this card. Not physically, of course, but mentally I was pacing back and forth.  The ever fantastic Christina Barnes is hosting this week at Our Creative Corner.  Please visit the main blog to read more about this week's Sketch Challenge for a Male with the additional option of using monochromatic colors.  Having read Christina's motivation for this week's challenge, I was so touched and  inspired, I decided to create this template of a wing-tip shoe along with a Maltese Proverb in honor of someone very special in her life.  Just briefly, I stayed with monochromatic browns (with the exception of one little red heart) and houndstooth embossed some brown corrugated cardboard, layered it with white corrugated cardboard and then layered that with sheet music strips to While Strolling Through The Park One Day and topped it off with the paper pieced shoe.  Hope you enjoy this card and thank you so much for your visit. 
Hugs,
Lisa xx
Here's my sketch that you are welcome to take if you'd like to. Have a wonderful day!





Kiss The Card...

It's another gorgeous day in the bloggy land neighborhood.  The birds are singing, the butterflies are flitting, rainbows are shining and people are kissing cards!  Say what? That's right, kissing cards.  Today is my second week to host the challenge over at Our Creative Corner and I've chosen the theme of Kissing and a twist.  No, I don't mean plant a big wet one on your project, but use the technique of kissing one stamp to another stamp AND add the letters X and O somewhere in the midst of all of that.  Here is a link to help show what I mean if you've never tried this technique before or you just need a refresher.

Here is my card I've designed for the challenge.

These are all the stamps I've used and you can see in the picture which ones I've paired together to 'kiss.'  The following stamps are all from Stampin' Up! (Paint Prints, Silhouette Sentiments, For All You Do, and All Natural)

Close up of the kissing technique using Bliss Blue on the background flower stamp and Vintage Photo DI for the bird.

Here is my little stamp from Inkadinkado which contains the letters

 X and O.

Every week and I mean EVERY week, I'm always blown away by the exquisite designs this DT comes up with.  I'd really love it if you popped in for a visit and and left them some words of encouragement.  They all work so very hard to create the most amazing and unique ideas to inspire.

Thanks so much for stopping in and I sure hope you'll find the time to play in my challenge at

OUR CREATIVE CORNER

Challenge Theme:

KISSING TECHNIQUE and Use the letters X and O