Cards I'd Like to CASE

Good Tuesday Morning!

I love being able to use other people's creations as a springboard to my own creativity.  I love using sketches, Pinterest, and other blogs I read to inspire me.  Today I have gathered a few of the cards I have seen recently I'd like to CASE.  What is CASE Amy?  Oh, that is Copy And Share Everything.  Crafter's slang for copying your idea either true to form, or with a few tweaks to make it our own.

I also have included a few craft spaces I have found on Pinterest that I love.  I am hoping that when we do the addition on our house I will be able to use the guest room as my craft space.  I hope you enjoy this little bit of inspiration today.  I'd love for you to leave me a comment and let me know where you find your favorite inspirations.

By Amy O'Neill

by Candace Schwatz

by Catherine Pooler

by Fran Sabad

by Heidi Baks

by ZoKris

Great creations everyone!  Now, here are a couple craft spaces I love.  What are your favorite things in a craft space?

 Have a great day today!  Thanks for stopping in.  Tomorrow is a 52 Lists posts--Your Favorite Books, Stories, and Poems.  

PS...A happy birthday to my cousin Elsie today!!  

Clean and Simple 238

Happy Monday Everyone!

I'm running a bit behind today--you know how it is when you get back from a weekend away.  Lots of "weekend stuff" to catch up on.  I've got laundry going, homework is happening here, dinner prep...ah the glamorous life I live!  We had a great weekend, as you could see from my Sunday Share post, and it won't be long and there will be even MORE chaos coming to our house.  It's all good chaos though.

So, here is my Clean and Simple 238 challenge card.  I combined it with the Color Q 186 challenge using Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White.  I love this color combination--it's so cheerful.

Thanks for checking in today!  I'm back tomorrow at my usual posting time of 7:00 am.  Hope to see you then.

Sunday Share-Sister Weekend and Scout Fink

Happy Sunday All!

Sunday Share post is a little delayed today.  We had a change up in plans and ended up going down to visit my sister, and stay with my Mom and Dad because my sister had an alterations appointment she couldn't change.  Turned out to be a great idea as there is NO SNOW where my parents live, and the weather was in the 70's all weekend.  We took some long walks in the park with the kids and dogs, Alex got to ride his scooter and Jack got to try out his new bike.  We love Hidden Valley Park near my parents' house-it's a great out of the way park.  There are woods and trails, a creek, a playground, ballfield, and a really neat pavilion with a stone fireplace. (Rumor has it it used to be a bar)
Here's some pictures from the park:

Nomad-my sister and Andy's dog

Jack getting ready to ride

Alex-taking off (going back for his helmet)

My Dad in his Indiana Jones Hat

Mitch and Jack

The creek--it's up and moving fast

Alex skipping rocks 

Dad, Emily , Alex and Nomad running along behind

The Pavilion and Fireplace

Alex-my favorite photo bomber

The boys and the dogs on the trail

My Dad took the boys and Mitch to Cabela's for the day on Saturday while my Mom, Emily and I went to her alterations appointment, had lunch, and did some shopping.  We had takeout for dinner from my favorite Chinese place--David Fongs, and pizza from Pizza and Pasta for the boys.  A GREAT day.

Me, my Mom, and Emily

Me and my Little Sis

Me and Emily

Alex and Jack at Cabelas

Today it was time for another great walk at the park, breakfast, and then time to head for home.  Although, we had one more fun stop along the way.  We are getting a new puppy, and we stopped and picked her out on our way.  Her name is Scout and here she is.  Hope you all had a great weekend, too.

Scout 4-28-13

Friday Mashup on Saturday...I had quite the week this week and forgot to link this up to the Friday Mashup site.  I finished up preparing the name tags, wishes, and scrapbook paper for the Fairy Princess Ball happening this Sunday.  I hope all the little Princesses enjoy them!  There is still time to donate to this great cause if you are interested, please check it out here.  

So back to the Friday Mashup-the challenge was a card you could mail to someone or Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum and Wisteria Wonder.  I used the Natural Composition paper with the flowers on it for the background, and then used the Decorative Label Punch in Wisteria Wonder.  The bike is Perfect Plum, and the Hello, Dear Friend is where the Sahara Sand comes in.  So, although I didn't link it up for the challenge, I hope you'll all enjoy it here anyway.  I'll be back some time tomorrow with the Sunday Share post.  

Enjoy the weekend out there!

Retro Sketches #60 and Color Q #185

Hello Out There!

One more day at work and my sister will be here :)  I'll be sure to take pictures of our day along the way and share them with you all.  So looking forward to Emily being here.

Today I combined the Retro Sketches #60 and Color Q #185.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull off the Color Q this time...it was hard!  Here's what we came up with:

Here was the result:

Thanks for stopping in today!  I hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend whatever you all are doing!

My Favorite Things-120

Hey Readers!

Hope your week is clicking along nicely.  My sister is coming in to town this weekend, and I can't wait to spend some time with her.  Rain is in the forecast, but hey, it's better than snow, and we aren't going to let a little rain get us down.

Today's card is based on this sketch from the My Favorite Things blog.  It was a fun one to play with. Those little pennant flags are so trendy right now and they can be so many different things.  This is a sketch I'll do again.

Here's my take.  I wanted to upload it in the Splitcoast Gallery for a chance to win but for some reason my login wasn't working.  They a had me registered as a guest, and when I tried to upgrade my login I just got looped back out...so, I'll try and work that out for next time.  

Thanks for checking in with me today!  I hope you take the time to create something great this week.  

52 Lists Week 15--Quotes

Hi Wednesday Readers!!

Today's post is another adventure in 52 Lists.  Week 15's challenge was favorite quotes.  I LOVE quotes.  I have always loved finding quotes that speak to me.  Inspirational quotes, movie quotes, and there are sayings out there that make me think of my family with a smile.  My sister and my oldest son are THE BEST and quoting movies.  I wish my sister would guest post with me on this one because seriously--it's amazing.  One of my constants has always been "Bloom Where You Are Planted"  Every time I see the quote I hear it in my Mom's voice as she has always said that is one of my gifts.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes currently.  Leave me a comment and let me know your favorites, too :)  If you want to check out lots of my others, you can check out my Pinterest boards here.

1.) Never put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket.
2.) Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games. -Babe Ruth
3.) No one ever has become poor by giving. -Ann Frank
4.) People may not always tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you. Pay attention.
5.) She believed she could so she did.
6.) Live so when your children think of fairness, caring & integrity, they think of you.- H. Jackson Brown Jr.
7.) It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do- Jane Austen
8.) We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.-Albert Einstein
9.) Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.
10.) You are free to choose, but not from the consequences of your choice- unknown
11.) Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.
12.) Live your life in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you no one would believe it.
13.) She may be little but she's mighty.  Good things come in small packages-my Gram
14.) Never give up on a dream because of the time it will take to accomplish it.  The time will pass anyway.  -Earl Nightengale
15.) Certain things capture the eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. -Ancient Indian Proverb

I could go on and on....these are just a few of my favorites.  Thanks for stopping in today!  Check out the 52 Lists project over at Mooreaseal


PS...We Stampin' Up! demonstrators get to see the new catalog today.  I got a sneak peek over the weekend and it is FABULOUS.  Truly something for everyone--even someone who doesn't want to craft.  Contact me today to book your own workshop/private class and earn the catalog, plus a fun hostess bundle FREE from me.

Product Tuesday Feature: 12x12 Divided Page Protectors

Happy Tuesday Blog Friends!

Today's post is going to be all about 12x12 Divided Page Protectors.  I admit, I have bought an album and a package of these beauties with the intent of recording "A Month in the Life" each month of the Fink family.  However, that may have to be something I start in 2014 because I don't like to start mid-year, and it's already almost May.  Have no fear, Stampin' Up! has been working on this in 2013, so I have some beautiful photographs for you.

My Digital Studio has some great downloads that fit as those super trendy journaling cards, and, you can always make your own complete with the pattern and print you want.  They have just permanently lowered the price of My Digital Studio to 19.95-so it's really an affordable option for a fabulous design program. (Check out the blog on the customer page for the ADORABLE onesie project they just did-I'm making some for my niece!!)  Here are a couple examples that are available as downloads:

This one is a freebie!  Order Number 133387

Stampin' Up! has such amazing designers and concept artists-here's a look from the corporate blog at  some things you can do with these albums.  On trend with all of the projects like this you see popping up everywhere!

Hopefully this post has inspired you to give these a try--such a fun twist on traditional scrapbooking!  Have a great rest of your day, thanks for stopping in!

Clean and Simple-237

Hey Readers!

Hope you have all had a good weekend.  I spent the day on Saturday crafting with some of my girlfriends.  My main project was cutting out name tags for the Fairy Princess Ball.  I got 200 of them cut and ready to go for the Princesses :)  Then I worked on my blog cards for this week, and did a lot of chatting and eating good snacks which is pretty much a prerequisite for those kinds of days, right?  Sunday was a day to kind of put the house back together and get laundry caught up for the week.

There is a new post over at Clean and Simple today--I hope you will play along!  Here's this week's sketch:

Here's my take on it.  We have 4 babies coming in my family between May and September.  Of all of those babies, 3 are girls and one is a boy....I thought this card lent itself perfectly to a baby boy card.  I used the Moving Forward set from the catalog.  What I love most about this set is that Stampin' Up! donates $3 of EVERY sale of this set to the Ronald McDonald charity.  Giving back is something so important to me, so I love that I get the cute images of this set AND I get to help when purchasing it. You can pick still pick this one up through May in my store.

  

In addition I used strips of paper from the This and That bundle.  (I LOVE this paper)  The retired star punch is in Island Indigo (so glad that color is sticking around to be part of our permanent color collection), the 2 1/2 circle punch for the sailboat image, and the Itty Bitty Banner framelit cut out the banner perfectly for my "Hello Baby" sentiment.  A clean and simple cute and fitting baby card!

Can't wait to see what you all create!  Have a great rest of your Monday--create something fun!