Three GREAT companies, one GREAT cause

If you haven't heard, there's a fantastic benefit sale going on this weekend! Many of you know that Eric Liles, husband of our stamping sister Susan Liles, has been battling a very aggressive form of cancer the past few months. Susan's cheery, upbeat attitude during this ordeal has been such an inspiration. Behind that, however, is the worry of such a diagnosis, not to mention the worry over mounting medical bills, especially with Eric now out of sick leave at work.

Here's how you can help! Three amazing companies that Susan designs for, My Favorite Things, The Cat's Pajamas, and Verve Stamps, have teamed up for a fundraiser to benefit the Liles family. You save 10% store wide with all three companies, and as you shop, the Liles family benefits by receiving a portion of all weekend sales revenue. It's a win-win! Use coupon code SUSIEQ at My Favorite Things. No code needed at The Cat's Pajamas and Verve. The sale runs from today, Friday, June 18, through Sunday, June 20.

Susan's sister and and a good friend have also set up a donate button on Susan's blog if you'd prefer to make an outright donation.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening.

Couple sympathy cards and some BRAKs

Hi everyone!  Well, believe it or not, I am close to being done with the 60 card order!  WHEW!  I had almost 1/2 in my stash and another 5 or so that I could modify to fit a category or two.  I am down to: 1 sympathy, 3 congrats, 2 encouragement cards left to make!! 

Here are a couple sympathy cards I made last night.  They both use the same paper pack from Kaisercraft, Devonshire with simple embellishments.

OH, AND TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!

I have several RAK birthday cards to share with you all.  This stamping community of ours is so amazing.  I am constantly amazed by the generosity and friendship of us stampers!  Thank you girls for thinking of me and sending me happy mail!!

This one is from Kelly Landers, LOVE this amazing clear card.  It's hard to photograph, but it is stunning!

This one is from Kathy Jones.  How did she know Cosmobella was my very FIRST Bella I bought and remains to this day my favorite?  And, she included some yellow pearls that I seem to go through like water!

This one is from Collette Landwer.  I love this stunning Asian card.  Amazing coloring!

This one is from Pam Moore.  She is queen of shabby/eclectic art stamping.  Look at the amazing vintage goodies she sent me?  Trim, material samples, and look as those bright pink buttons!  Just gorgeous!

This one is from Anne Harada.  What a lovely card complete with trim, flowers and pearls!  AND she sent me a package of gold foil flourish stickers.  How beautiful!

Again- thank you, THANK YOU, thank you, girls!  

Well, thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Some RAKs and Verve release week!

Hi everyone! I have some RAKs to share with you today. I am a horrible blogger when it comes to RAKs. Don't get me wrong, these lovely cards all have a wonderful place in my craft area for me to enjoy. It just takes me forEVAH to blog about them! LOL!

So, some of these RAKs date back to February! Here goes:

This lovely card comes from Laura (Scrapnextras)

This lovely card comes from Jodi (Stamping a Latte)

This lovely card comes from Jen (The Buck Stamps Here)

This lovely card comes from Bev (Bevithia)

This lovely card comes from Maria (Scraps by M)

This lovely card comes from Silke (My Life)This lovely card comes from Stacy (Twinshappy)

This lovely card and amazing stash of Australian goodies comes from Kathy (Inspired to Stamp)

AND today kicks off the Verve Release Week fun! The release is on Friday, and Julee is starting the week off with a great sketch for you! A few of the Diva's are hosting some challenges this week and we'd love for you to play along! You can find out all the details here!

I am hosting a Color Challenge!! Woohoo! Hey, I can't do a masculine card challenge EVERY time -LOL! The details of my challenge can be found here. Be sure to head to the Verve Blog for a recap and to find out who is the Guest Verve Diva this month! Wednesday the peeks will start!

Thanks for stopping by!

Some RAK cards and Blog Candy!

Hi everyone, I don't have any cards to share -it seems my stamping MOJO has taken a vacation!


Well, I don't blame it. It may have something to do with the fact that this weekend (while up here for my son's 5th birthday) my mom took a large piece of furniture from my dining room/stamping area. It was a long buffet table that I had "taken over" with stamping stuff and it really wasn't working for my stamping needs. In actuality having my mom take it was just what I needed. Poor Bill came home from work on Monday to a bare wall and a declaration that I get to completely redesign the entire wall just for my stamping stuff! What a love, he is totally fine with it. So, in the meantime I am working out of boxes and clutter until I get it all figured out.


Here are a couple pics how things are now. Here is the blank wall that will soon house a 12' long x 3' deep table (from my great grandma!). I am thinking some kind of shelves on the wall to the side of the window...



But, I do have some happy mail to share with you! Nothing like HAPPY MAIL to put a smile on your face, huh? I just love my stamping friends and wanted to show you all some lovely cards that I received.


Here is a card from my fellow Dirty Girl, Jodi:

Here is a card from the newest Friends of Flourishes girl extraordinairre, Silke:

Here are 2 cards from my DoubleDog Dare challenge GF, Anne:

And last but not least, a Valentine's card from the Verve Girl herself, Julee:


And now on to the Blog Candy! This is special candy -remember back when, I received some lovely Blog Candy from America in this post? Well, one of the items she sent me was a Cricut cartridge called Wedding/Mariage. Well, I don't own a Cricut and asked America if I could "pay the candy forward" so it could be put to use. She loved the idea.


So here is some PIF candy for you. AND I added a couple things. Some were things I bought in duplicate (like the rhinestones) and some were given to me (the CM frames).

Here is what is up for grabs:
1. Cricut cartridge (Wedding Marriage)
2. Gold rhinestones by Kaiser Crafts
3. 2 Creative Memories frames (3" square)
4. 2 adhesive backed metal star embellishments by Pressed Petals
5. Prima Esprit Pink bottle

To enter to win, you need to have a Cricut (I want this lovely gift to be used!) and leave me a comment on this post. If you mention the blog candy on your blog, you can be entered twice! I will pick a random winner Tuesday the 24th, noon PST.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Another RAK!

Oh, what a fun mail week I had!! Me and my LOVELY friend, Lee (LuvLee) did a small DP swap. You know - we all seem to have tons of DP we never use, why not swap some? Anyway, this is the super fun envie she put together for me! And isn't that a super card? I never seem to use fibers on a card, and she made it look so easy!

Hugs to you Lee!! I love the paper you selected for me. VERY much my style and these will go to good use, I promise. This was fun.

RAK from Shannon!

Yikes! I haven't posted in almost a week because I have been sick with that nasty bug going around. I don't have anything to share that I have made, but I did get some happy mail! What a super fun card from my fellow Verve Diva and Elzybelle, Shannon Teubner.

Can I just say how much I love this? Beautiful coloring, lots of sparkle, design and she even sewed on this!! The image is Daisy Canopy from Elzybells. I love it and thank you so much for thinking of me Shannon.

I am finally getting over this cold, so will be back tomorrow or Sunday with something to post.

RAK from Janette

Oh, lookie what my mail lady brought me today!! My friend Janette (BlessingsX3) sent me a Martha Stewart punch, the Branch punch that I was admiring!!! Oh, and what an amazing card too :-) I just love how she colored that cute little girl. I am not familiar with the image, but it looks like something from the Magnolia line. It's hard to see in the picture, but the yellow BG paper is all shimmery and the brads are too! Yahoooooo, thanks so much Janette!

A beautiful RAK

Oh, this card graced my mailbox earlier this week and completely brightened up my day! A big thank you to my friend, Janette (blessingsx3) for this beauty. She sent me congratulations on making the DT for Elzybells. The coloring on this is amazing and the image has just the perfect amount of sparkle! Thanks Janette, it has a prominent spot in my stamping area.

2 more birthday cards and 2 RAKS

WOWeeeee! I just love getting birthday cards arriving late, I mentioned this before, but it just so much fun to open up real mail -and beautiful cards is even better! Most of you know that I am pretty active in the PIF (pay it forward) forum on SCS and these are from my PIF friends!

This lovely beauty is from Arlene Bridges. WOW, Arlene the colors and design of this is GORGEOUS. Thank you so much!



How cute is this little girl with the mini birthday cake? Just lovely! This is from Newstampinaddict, Alison. Hugs to you Alison and thanks for this amazing and sweet card.


This RAK is from my dear stampin friend Shirley (squirrellyshirley). She sent this to me to congratulate me for being invited to be a Dirty Girl. It is hard to see in the picture, but the main image is cracked glass! She loves that technique and is a pro at it! Love this, Shirley, just love this!

Last, but not least, is this gorgeous lily RAK card from Janette (Blessingsx3) sent to congratulate me for being selected as a Dirty Girl. For those of you who don't know, Janette was just asked to be on the design team for Hanna Stamps! Yeah Janette. Back to the card, I love the simple colors and framing in black. Thank you so much for thinking of me Janette.

Holy Smokes! More birthday cards!

WOWeeee! More cards. Oh, I love getting birthday cards a tiny bit late... it extends the birthday love!! Here are some more beauties I got in the mail today.

Clockwise from the top:

Lovely flower cake from Lori (artsylori)

FUN and hip tall pink and black card from Charlene (LilLuvsStampin)

Amazing fold/tuck card by Julia (artystamper

and fun little dog from Lori (artsylori) -yes, 2!!

Oh, ladies! What can I say??? Charlene, your card is so amazing and cheerful! Julia, that design is super fun and I will have to CASE! Lori, WOW super cute cards and you sent TWO? I am smilin' ear to ear!

More Birthday cards to share!

WOW! I am truly blessed with my wonderful stamping friends. Here are some more birthday cards I received.

Clockwise starting at the top: Riley Moose from Roseanne (SumToy), Dansing bella from Diane (Glamour), Adorable Cow from Meg (Stamping Meg), Amazing Eiffle Tower from Jen (JenMarie), and Wonderful Sunflower fromPatti (MommaPatti).

Oh, ladies! Thank you all so much for thinking of me on my day. I love the cards, each amazing in it's own way!!

Happy mail!

What a fun day at the mail box! I got several birthday cards from my stampin friends. This first picture shows a super cute Inky Antics turtle card from Denise (Peanutbee) and a card using Best Blossoms Anne (Itsapassion).

Thank you so much ladies, these cards are amazing and so detailed! Just love them.

I will be back later to post pics of rest of the lovely birthday cards.