Happy Birthday to Me :)

Yep, its my birthday today and I am admitting it! I have come a long way in the year. Last year's birthday had me in tears. Today I am thankful for another year and decided to grin and bear it! My brother and I have decided that we are 20 somethings this year so that made it even easier ;)

I have treated myself this week to some quality stamp time down in my craft room. Here is what I have come up with:

A friend has just recently purchased a house and here is part of a housewarming gift. I also have a wine tote that I'd like to alter but am having some challenges with that. I will keep you posted on my progress on that. I am not so optimistic, unfortunately.

I also made a few cards for my ETSY store (stop by ... give me feedback, buy something!!):

I also finished my swap card ... and maybe I should keep it a secret, but we are swapping on Sunday so I am going to go ahead and post a *version* of it.

Thanks for looking! We are going out to dinner and to the Cardinals game with OUT kids tonight so I won't be stamping or crafting again until Friday evening, probably! Hope you have a wonderful crafty day!

Come Get Punchy With Us

Okay, I am posting a whole bunch of cards that I have been working on. The first two pictures above are of a sympathy card that will go on sale at Nooks and Crannies. Buckle cards are so easy and look really nice, I think. I am not usually a big fan of Blush Blossom but paired with Close to Cocoa, I thought it looked really nice! Maybe all that paper won't go to waste, afterall. I try to make sympathy cards simple but elegant. Petal Prints stamp set is perfect for that purpose.

The second two pictures are birthday cards. One is going to Nooks and Crannies and the other to my sister, Kari :) Hopefully she won't see it here first!! I got the layout from the most fabulous blog that I have been visiting often ... http://www.poeticartistry.blogspot.com/ -- she does a Monday morning sketch (and you can download all of them in one document). She is very talented and I think you should go check it out (after you read all this, of course!)

The scalloped circle with the "Y" on it is one from the stamp camp coming up this Saturday -- Come Get Punchy With Us! I used my corner rounder to make this large scalloped circle! Isn't that fanastic!! It will fit nicely in a square envelope so no problem mailing it. The "Y" on the outside stands for "you" which is the definition (from Define Your Life set) on the inside. Its chipboard and SU! is having a chipboard promotion beginning May 1st so our guests can try that out, too. The printed paper is Le Jardin.

The little colorful Gable Green card is my swap card for this month. Our challenge was to use vellum, so I immediately knew I wanted to emboss it. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder to do the little bee and then, of course, because its finally spring AND bees love flowers I finally got to use The World Over (hostess set) which I think is so cute but hardly ever use.

And lastly, the pretty buckle card is the second sneak peek at the cards for the Stamp Camp. I just got the Together Forever stamp set to make my cousin's wedding thank you notes. I loved it in the catalog but didn't really have a reason to buy it until she asked me to do those for her. The flowers are just so pretty :) And since I have a few weddings to go to this summer I am sure I will use this card and this set more often. I have not gotten into the In Colors as much this year as I did last year but I decided to dig into that stash of paper and used: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and River Rock with Purely Pomogranate ink, too.

Alright, hope you find some inspiration!