My Second TE Blast from the Past Blog Hop

It's that time again! This time around, we had a beautiful color inspiration picture to get the creative juices flowing.

Turns out I was very inspired =) I needed a card for my sister in law's anniversary at the end of the month (and their last anniversary celebrated with just the two of them since their bundle of joy is due in August), so what better to offer them than a little celebration of life with Taylored Expressions' Celebrate Life stamp set?! Plus, I thought the flower on the red pillow looked like the largest image in the set!

I used some Real Red, Certainly Celery, Whisper White and Baja Breeze paper, along with the TESC117 sketch as a base. I always have to remind myself that a sketch is really a starting point and doesn't necessarily require a strict adherence to it. Must be that Type A personality shining through =)

I stamped the dandelion and some puffs in white craft ink and added some white gel pen dots to the scallops. Finished up my little red ribbon with some dimension and half pearls that matched the Baja Breeze as best as possible. The white paper had a zip through the cuttlebug swiss dots folder , a constant reminder of Marisa!

After realizing I had failed to use the Saffron color from the inspiration colors, I decided to use the colors for a card to celebrate my friend's three year old daughter's upcoming birthday. This time around, it was an inking of my first ever TE stamp set, Beary Special.

This time, I used some ribbon and buttons in place of the squares in an old TE sketch (TESC88) that I apparently really like. I chose it when I was going through the fabulous resource known as the TE Sketch Book - only to discover that I'd actually used it before here. Too funny! Oh well - the heart knows what it loves and I do love it.

A little sponging on the nestie and some paper piecing of the bear and backpack (don't look too close - the backpack strap was VERY tough to cut out with my exacto knife). Oh well - I'm happy with the card and I think it's perfect for one of my favorite little girls!

Now be sure to check out all of the amazing creations along the blog hop!

Here are the entries from the Taylored Expressions Blast from the Past blog hop! Stay tuned for details on how you can sign up for the customer blog hop next month!

1.	Taylor VanBruggen	18.	Alison Anderson	35.	Libby Hickson
2.	Monika Davis	19.	Jessica Willison	36.	Rebecca Ednie
3.	Jen Tapler	20.	JoAnn Valderama	37.	Angela Bear
4.	Tracy Clemente	21.	Cassie Trask	38.	Peggy McCurry
5.	Carolina Buchting	22.	Karen Motz	39.	Tonya Woodruff-Everett
6.	Jackie Pedro	23.	Candace Mitchell	40.	Barbara Anders
7.	Corinne Reyes Mercado	24.	Shelly Cameron	41.	Jami Sibley
8.	Bonnie Ratzloff	25.	Charmaine Ikach	42.	Pattie Goldman
9.	Tangii Crain	26.	Karen Giron	43.	Carole Chesser
10.	Jodi Collins	27.	Laurie Schmidlin	44.	Ayana Posadas
11.	Stacey Schafer	28.	Tammy Hershberger	45.	Lisa Smeaton
12.	Kerry Johnson	29.	Lorie Ames	46.	Colleen Begley
13.	Tanis Palmer	30.	Ann Kranitz	47.	Lori Tecler
14.	Kelli Hull	31.	Carolyn Mustopa	48.	Rosie Hughes
15.	Lisa Hjulberg	32.	Melissa Cooper	49.	Sankari Wegman
16.	Margaret de Witt	33.	Laura Jean Nygaard	50.	Meri McLaughlin
17.	Stephanie Kraft	34.	Patti Gingrich	51.	Melissa Sauls

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

A Card before a Crazy Week!

I had a chance late last night to whip up a card for my father in law's birthday on Thursday. Actually, I didn't really have a chance, so I made one - late. I had a great, busy weekend volunteering for the Underwear Affair on Saturday afternoon after a whole bunch of errands in the morning (including getting my cell back and returning the horrendous thing they loaned me while mine was away. Note to self - I will never own a soft keyboard phone!)

Sunday I finally slept in for the first time in about a month, got some yardwork done and a 34km bike ride with the girls. I've now gotten myself involved with a 60K ride on July 3rd (two days after a 15K walk/jog for Canada Day) and a 100K ride on July 25th.  Really have to work on saying "No!" =)

This week is my last week of bootcamp for this session, a horse jumping lesson, a 5K walk, and ends with my Financial Accounting final exam (thank goodness!!).

Anyways, this card used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch 74 and I tried to use manly colors - black, white, grey & olive. I used my favorite birthday stamp from Verve for the sentiment and kept it clean & simple. MrP liked it, so I hope his Pa does, too!

Have a wonderful Monday! I'm participating in the TE Blast from the Past Blog Hop tomorrow - hope you can check 'em out!

And so I survived!

Well not only did I survive, I enjoyed myself =) 165K in two days (we got cut short thanks to some fresh tar on the highway...not that we were complaining)

Team Hot Wheels (before sore bums!)

Me and Shelly at lunch on Day 1

A & I on Day 2
(action shot taken by her father who came out & took pics of her at three different locations.
Can you say PROUD PAPA?!)

A and I at the the bitter end - and smiling!

Oh - and one of my 'finer moments' from Saturday night

Just keepin' it real....you know!

Really - it was all for the photo because I'm all about making sure everyone has a laugh.

And I did raise about $1500 for the MS Society - that's nothing to laugh at =)

I'm a week late

with Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #75, that is! But it seemed like a great starting point for this week's Sisterhood challenge since I created it on Sunday for my brother in law's birthday.

We booked our hotel for NYC yesterday and I'm pumped! That was one of the last "must do" items before the trip....now it's all entertainment & restaurant reservations from here on in. Based on a friend's recommendation, we're staying at the Wyndham Garden Times Square.

Now if only I could feel as confident about my bike tour on June 12th & 13th and my Financial Accounting final exam on June 25th. HAHAHA!

Have a great Wednesday.

It's Your Birthday!

This card started out as a birthday card for MrP, but turned into something far too girly =) I just love the scarlett jewel & wild wasabi combination.
I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 71 for the layout and it was my first attempt at the 'valance' look that my friend Andrea has mastered so well with the buttons on the loops.

Stamps: Verve One Person, Verve Big Wish

Paper: PTI Scarlett Jewel, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White

Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Scallop Punch, White Buttons, Wild Wasabi Ribbon, Nestabilities

Another night of bootcamp tonight! Yahoo! Had a fabulous first riding lesson back last night and I'm looking forward to getting my butt kicked tonight.

Oh yeah - and we added another adventure to our NYC trip in September - we purchased tickets for Saturday, September 11th's 11:00 tennis match. We're thinking it'll be the men's semi finals, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be entertaining from the cheap seats! =)