Wild & Punny

With every new Idea Book I tend to find a stamp that is my favorite throughout the entire catalog. This stamp was not my usual genre, but it encapsulates a favorite animal of mine recently and my daughter's "spirit animal". The llama and sloth together on one stamp set? So crazy!

I really like the other animals and the "punny" sentiments that coordinate with them. Plus, to get any stamp with the thin cuts is a no-brainer! Here are some cards I showcased for my Open House event giving a sample of each creature.

I pulled in a mix of papers from many of the new collections in the idea book along with the mix-in papers. I used the sloth card for my daughter's graduation. She just received her Associate's Degree from the university where she has attended for only 5 semesters. She will have her Bachelor's Degree by next spring, hence the irony of the sloth!

Here we are with her from this past Friday. So proud of her, what a beautiful day! I can't wait to scrapbook more of the pics we took from the weekend as it is National Scrapbooking Month!

Take a look through the new Idea Book to see which stamp set stands out as your favorite. I hope you like this stamp too and consider adding it to your collection. It would be so "punny" if you do!

Congrats Smarty Pants!

The theme last week on Heart 2 Heart Challenges is a "congratulations" theme! Perfect timing for all those High School and college grads! I just celebrated my nephew's graduation this past weekend. While celebrating with him and his family, we came to the realization that several of the cousins were going to be graduating back to back for at least the next 4 years! So why not make a few graduation cards to prepare and since my own daughter will be one of the graduates next year, she was my inspiration for these cards. I like to call them the Smarty Pants Series!

I made a total of 4 cards that all vary in size, but carry the same theme by using the papers from the Magical collection, the eye glasses cut on the Cricut Artistry cartridge and images stamped from the new Smarty Pants MyAcrylix stamp set.

Pretty cute collection of cards to celebrate that super smart graduate on their success! Be sure to visit the Heart 2 Heart Blog to see how others celebrated this theme!

You can order the Cricut cartridges, Magical papers and the Smarty Pants stamp set online here.

Regatta Graduate

Today I'm playing along with Heart 2 Heart Challenges. They are inviting guests to use the wonderful Regatta papers for their projects. This collection has been so much fun to play with! Sadly, it will be retiring in just a few days.

For today's card I decided to use the Regatta PML card and other patterned paper to create a graduation card. It fits the theme really well! I love the sentiment that was on one of the zip strips; nothing but blue skies ahead! It's so true at graduation time. Your whole life is there ahead of you just waiting to be explored! The graduation cap and the sentiment I stamped on the inside are from a new stamp set coming in May in the Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book.

Country Born Grad

One more graduation card for you today! Like the last post, it is not a typical graduation card. It was created specifically for the Grad! I chose the soft, feminine Clementine papers and the lovely horse image from the Country Born stamp set. I thought the addition of natural twine was fun and did not take away from the pretty paper or beautiful stamped image.

Buzzing with Best Wishes Grad!

I have never created so many graduation cards until this year! I suppose it's because my own kids are close to graduation and all of their friends are too! Also, many of my friends all had children around the same time as me!! Regardless the reason, I have lots of creating to do.

My card today features the lovely Buzz & Bumble papers and embellishments. I am submitting this card for a couple of challenges. The first challenge uses the sketch this week on The Paper Players. I love the graphic blocks of patterned paper and that scroll feature!

The second challenge is for Heart 2 Heart. Their Nip & Tuck theme this week challenges us to use real or faux stitching. I chose faux, because I love how quick and easy the technique. It gives the project the same effect as real stitching without the extra work of dragging a sewing machine out of the closet!

This is certainly not a "typical" graduation card, but neither is the recipient! I wanted a gorgeous, classy card, because the young lady receiving is just that!

Creature Feature

Today's card features a creature for the challenge on Heart 2 Heart this week. My creature is a wise owl with a graduation congratulations. I've used some older papers with a "school" theme as well as some stamps & embellishments perfect for the occasion.