simply caffeinated

hello!

hi there! oh my! i can't believe it has been so long! things have just been crazy busy and i have been stamping, but i haven't had time to post anything, lol! we had a great halloween and thanksgiving, work has been super busy, and then i was in a craft fair at the beginning of december so that took all my spare time. once that was over, things were busy with christmas prep. we had a wonderful christmas and now i am really looking forward to 2012! 

today is the last day for the current paper smooches sparks challenge, and i made this card the other day so i really wanted to post it before the challenge ended! i was totally inspired by the red and the red stripes in the inspiration picture, so i paper pieced the couch and pillow from the new *vogue abode* set coming out january 1st, and i kept it cas of course. the oval is from that set too, and the hello is from the word salad set. did you know if you are a member of the ps club you get each month's new stamps waaay early? how cool is that? i have missed playing along with these fun sparks challenges and i hope to get back to playing them again! there will be a new one posted tomorrow so be sure to check in over there and play along! i hope you had a magical christmas and i wish you all the best in 2012! thanks for visiting! :)

happy fall

hi there! i am still recovering from watching my beloved chicago bears get beat by the lions last night. total bummer! :( i thought i'd get my mind off the crushing loss by posting this card i created for the current paper smooches sparks challenge. the inspiration photo this time really spoke to me. (click on the paper smooches badge below to go see the inspiration picture) i love the colors, the patterns, the images, everything. my mom used to have one of those tomato pin cushions too. :) i was inspired by all of the different tomatoes in different patterns and colors, so i created a bunch of paper pieced fall apples. all stamps are from paper smooches, i used the small apple image from the falling for you set, and i masked off the heart in the center of the apple. i used the happy from the halloweenies set and i spelled fall with the alphadots set. i used pop dots to pop each apple off the card. :) in other news, i signed up to be in a craft fair at the beginning of december! i am *so* excited about it!!! i have only been in one other craft fair, and it was about 3 years ago. it was a total blast! i am busy creating tons of stuff, so you'll be seing some of my craft fair creations soon. and if anyone lives in orange county, ca, and wants to stop by, just send me an email and i can give you all of the info! i hope you are having an awesome day! thanks for visiting! :) 

 

october sparks

 
hi there! just a quick post to share my card for the current paper smooches sparks challenge! it was a super cute inspiration picture, and i was inspired by the baby theme, the pink and the tag. very cas but i like how it turned out! i used welcome baby from the a little lovin set and the hearts are from the new hot concoctions set. sorry for the quick post, but i hope you are having a great day! thanks for visiting! :)

 

a rainbow thanks

hi there! here is my card for this week's one layer challenge on jennifer's blog. this week's challenge is to use a sentiment as the main focus of your card. i thought this fun thanks from the new paper smooches set chit chat would would work, so i used that, and went with rainbow colors. i am just loving rainbows lately. :) i colored them with copics and then used the colorless blender to make dots on each letter to give it a little something extra. i said this last week too, but i actually like how this turned out! normally i feel like i struggle with the one layer cards, even though i love cas, but last week and this week i was happy with my creations! maybe i am finally getting the hang of this one layer stuff, lol! i hope you are having a great day! thanks for visiting! :)

one layer color

hi there! it has been another crazy week over here! i had 2 wisdom teeth pulled and i have to say, it wasn't that fun. :( i kinda took it easy for a couple days and then after that i was super busy making up for the time i missed while taking it easy! :) the one layer challenges are back over on jennifer and susan's blogs though and i had to make time to play along because i love them and they always challenge my creativity. this week's challenge is on susan's blog and the challenge is to color. i really wanted to use this little ornament from the paper smooches hang ups set, so i decided to create these super clean and simple word cards. i just stamped the letters in gray ink using the alphadots set from paper smooches, then colored the ornaments in with copics, and then used a mini clear dome sticker over the ornament. i have to say, i am really happy with how they turned out! i will definitely be making some of these to have on hand for the holidays. below i showed them each individually. i am interested to know, which one do you like the best? i hope you are having an awesome day! thanks for visiting! :)

 

 

 

gnomes and a spark

hi there! i've got a couple cards to share today. this first one is for the current paper smooches sparks challenge. the inspiration was this gorgeous bracelet. i was definitely inspired by the soft colors, but i also was inspired by the small round beads. i used little images and a sentiment from the swanky snowdudes set. i really love non-traditional colors for holiday cards. the little holly leaves have pink jewels as the berries, and i added some crystal effects to the heart. super clean and simple, just how i like it! :) 

 

my second card is one i made for this week's cas challenge on scs. it was a sketch challenge, and i pulled out my happy little gnomes (pink cat studio digital) again for this one, and then used a paper smooches sentiment with it. i hope you are having a fabulous day! thanks for visiting! :)

catching up...

hi there! so school started wednesday and we are back to crazy busy over here! picking up, dropping off, carpools, getting supplies, paperwork, the list goes on and on! where did my lazy summer days go? even crazier than that, the weather here in southern california has been *hot*. like reminds me of las vegas hot. and yesterday we got a little treat because just before 4pm, the power went out!!! it was out for about 8 hours! total craziness! the fun news is that they cancelled school for today for my kids because the power loss was so extensive, lol! so i am back in lazy summer mode again, if just for today! :) i've got a couple cards to share, these first 2 are for 2 challenges, this week's cas-ual friday challenge (paper piecing with a fall theme) and this week's free for all challenge on scs (also paper paper piecing). since paper piecing happens to be my favorite technique, i had to play along! the first one is for a tween starting school, i thought it would be cute to paper piece some lockers in a rainbow colors. the lockers are an old retired stamp from a muse, and i used the paper smooches alphadots set to create the sentiment.

the next card uses the new halloweenies set from paper smooches. i have been waiting for kim hughes to create a halloween set and i am so happy it is finally here! :)

 

this last card i created for this week's cas challenge over on scs. the challenge was to create a card using shoes. i scoured my stamps and finally found this retired stamp from a muse. just a super cas one layer card. i hope you are having an awesome day! thanks for visiting! :)

 

thanks for the lift

hi there! i just have a quick card to show you today. i created this week's cas challenge on scs, which is also the last challenge for the summer cas dt. so sad! i am bummed that the 3 months is over, i have had a total blast being on the team this summer. but of course i will still be playing along because i love the cas challenge! this week's challenge is use kraft and primary colors to create a cas card. i used a new set from paper smooches called sunny side up. the set will be released on september 1st, but since i belong to the paper smooches club, i get my stamps early. how cool is that? if you come to my blog often, you might already know that i *love* me some paper smooches! so being a member of the club was a no brainer for me! :) i paper pieced the umbrellas, and added the little face that also comes in the set, and then the sweet sentiment. i hope you like it! thanks for visiting! :)

teacher time - day 5

 
hi there! today is the last day of teacher time with geeta and i! you can see day one here, day two here, day three here and day four here. i've got a bunch of different little things to show you. first i have a little bucket of notes. one of my very favorite dies, is this lunchbox note from papertrey. it makes the cutest little notecards, and they are perfect for so many things. you can make gift cards, little notes, and what i use it for most, is actually making lunchbox notes for my kids. so i was thinking that maybe a teacher could use some little notes too. this little bucket is another dollar spot find from target, and they have them all the time. i have a lot of them because i use them for gift giving and for storage too. they are cute! i tied some ribbon around and then attached a metal rimmed tag that i personalized. again, i am just putting my own name on there since i don't know the names of my kids' teachers yet. i will change them out once i know. :) then i die cut a bunch of the lunchbox notes in kraft cardstock and added some paper pieced images. the apple is from paper smooches fruitastic set (i masked off the face) and the pencil is from kim hughes' making the grade set. here is a close up of the notes and of the bucket:

 

this is a project that you could totally do while watching tv or a movie. just sit there and die cut a bunch of these notes, and then stamp or paper piece a bunch of images.

 

i love adding notes to my kids' lunches and they love them too! :) here are a couple quick ones i made using paper smooches sugar rush set. i try to make a bunch of these to have on hand so that i can grab them in the morning, write on them and get them into their lunch fast.

one more last little project to share! i couldn't let teacher time go by without a little punch girl! :) i took 2 scratch notepads from an office supply store and stick them together to create a chubbier notepad, and then i covered it with cardstock and added the punch girl. hopefully the teacher could use a cute notepad on her desk to write her notes in. :) thank you *so* much to everyone that visited my blog this week and for the sweet comments that you left! i had a blast making the gifts and i hope you found a little bit of inspiration here! thanks to geeta for playing along with me this week too! one more piece of business...the winner of wednesday's dvd tin giveaway! i selected a random winner and it is.......shirleynw! congratulations shirley! email me with your address and i will get the dvd tin right out to you! thanks again for your comments and thanks for visiting! :)

teacher time - day 4

hi there! it's day four of teacher time! geeta and i are having a blast posting our teacher gifts this week! :) you can see day one here, day two here, and day three (with a giveway!) here. today i have a *sweet* little set to share. i saw this adorable polka dotted pink box in the dollar spot at target recently and i thought it would make a great addition to a teacher gift so i scooped some up for a dollar each. i find so many great things in the dollar spot, and i really try to use them up. i used the colors of the box as inspiration and went with a berry theme. i had these cute little jolee's boutique dimensional stickers and used them to create some notecards. i haven't really been one to use stickers too much, but i recently saw these and thought they would make really fun, easy and cute cards. i created the sentiment using 3 different sets from paper smooches, thank you is from word up, berry is from fruitastic and much is from pretty phrases.

here is a peek inside the box. the gift consists of 5 notecards and envelopes, a decorated rsvp pen, and a matching book mark. i made the book mark using papertrey's new bloom builder's die #3 and a giant paper clip. i also added a matching bloom to the front of the box. hopefully after using the notes, the teacher could re-use the box for something else. here is a close up of the card and the box too. i hope you are having fun seeing the teacher gifts i am creating, i am sure having fun making them! :) today i am off to my oldest son's middle school orientation. yes, i said *middle school*!!! i can't believe my little guy is big enough to go to middle school. i think we are both a little scared, lol! :) be sure to check out geeta's awesome creation for today, and don't forget to enter into my giveway from yesterday. i will be back tomorrow with my last day of teacher gifts and to announce the winner! thanks for visiting! :)