let's hear it for the gals (Lawnscaping, CMC, Dream Valley ...)

Bet you're dying to know what this girly in the sneak peek is all about, eh?  Sorry, gonna make ya wait...

OK.  So my cards take me so long cuz I get boggled down with all the possibilities - this ink or that one?  this PP or that one?  do I have a better heart stamp?  News flash:  it is really cool to challenge yourself to use only one stamp set.  Really cool.  Try it.  I've a couple more cards to share with you from the card set I made for BFF's birthday.  Remember this and this?  Using this age old Inkadinkado set:

Start with this inspiration photo from Challenge #57 at Inspired By:

And then notice the striped coffee cup stamp nestled between the bathtub and the martini glass.  Well, please meet "We Need Girl Time".

Took a Cat's Eye stack and just used it.  Talented people get paid lots of money to develop a bunch of ink colors that go together well.  Why not just trust 'em!

Entering this card at:
Card Mania - #12 Oh so girly!
Dream Valley - #48 Anything Goes

And... did you see that Lawnscaping is celebrating their second birthday?  Going strong.  Lawn Fawn is even getting into the die business now too I see.   Well, even though I'm not using LF stamps, I am making cards for BFF's birthday so I'm joining the fun.

Please meet  "Mani & Pedi - wishing you a Happy Birthday".  (Had to borrow the HB sentiment stamp for the inside from a different set but that's allowed.  My challenge.  My rules.)

Manicures and pedicures are so-not-me.  Don't know if it's that, or the fact that BFF is a hairdresser, or that these divas have such an attitude... I LOVE THIS CARD.  Did you notice the single bling on the sentiment?  And the cucumbers on their eyes?  Get outta town!

OK, so they are actually kiwis, but I'm sure your Pavlov's-dogs-brain told you at first glance they were cukes!  Some teensy thingies I picked up at our dollar store.  Supposed to go on your fancy, schmancy fingernails.  Nope.  But my wonderful card they may adorn...

These ladies are making their way over to:
Sweet Stamps - #100 Anything Goes
Stamping Sensations - Friendship

Whew.  Long post.  It's bedtime.  Nite.

Supplies for Girl Time:

Paper: Cardbase Papermania

Stamps: Inkadinkado

Ink : Cat's Eye, Versafine

Supplies for Mani Pedi:

Paper: Cardbase Papermania

Stamps: Inkadinkado

Ink : Versafine

Tools: 

Other: bling, nail decals

dahoo doray tag a la ellen H. (Ellen Hutson, Catered Crop, Stamping Sensations, Craft Room)

OK, I'm dating myself here, but I grew up with the original red-and-green-cover copy of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  And the TV show (the animated version) only came on once a year.  So you planned your life accordingly.  Just sayin'.

Well, thanks Ellen Hutson for stirring up those wonderful memories.  Check out her tag on Day 12 of 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist over at The Classroom.  It's totally Whoville.  And all I could think of was the end of the movie when all the little Whos stand around the Christmas tree singing "Welcome, Christmas" while the narrator reads "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."  Yep.  I think it's a girl thing.  The guys probably remember hottie Martha May's line from the movie:

Martha May Whovier:   Did I have a crush on the Grinch? Of COURSE not. 
Cindy Lou Who:   Uh... I didn't ask you that. 

Enter my gnomes-turned-Whos.  And a crepe paper Who tree.

What did you do with your Friday evening?  With the exception of a couple interruptions, I spent mine making a tag!  I'd venture to say there isn't a technique I didn't use on this tag!

Heat embossing - BG, sentiment
Distress Inking - BG
Homemade PP - polka dots, banner
3D die cut and stitching- tree
Fussy cutting - gnomes
Selective inking - sentiment
Banner building - banner
Washi tape - tree trunk, star
Beads - heart (cuz you know the Grinch's heart grew two sizes that day!)

Other little tidbits... vintage pink yarn from MIL for the top of the tag, the teensy ornament from my bestest Hero Arts Christmas sentiment set cuz it looks so Whoville-y, the gnomes out of some funky PP from Aldi, the glitter CS hole reinforcer for sparkle. And I used a Penny Black BG stamp which I won in a Simon Says Stamp giveaway.  Thanks PB.  I kinda like the retro look of it.

Yeah that's what your life is like when you play at The Classroom.  And I won't mention that it took 84 photos shot at three different times (thanks to lousy weather) to get an OK photo.  TIP:  3D elements create shadows.  No matter where your light source is!  Oh well.

Put a gift card pocket on the back of this tag like I did here.  It's popular to give someone a bouquet as a gift in Germany and I think this special tag with a gift card hung on the bouquet will make for an extra special touch.

This is the HS CL343 clear stamp set I used for the sentiment and ornaments.  Ellen Hutson is having a contest where you can win some of the 2013 HA cuties.  Check it out here.

Let's hear it for Dr. Seuss's take on Christmas.  And Ellen Hutson's.  Warning:  I think there's one more tag in the making (special request from DD) but then I'm tagged out.

Joining the fun at:
Stamping Sensations - Treemendous
Craft Room Challenge - Make a Tag
Catered Crop - Tag, You're It

Appreciate your visit.

Supplies for welcome Christmas:

Paper: CS  American Crafts, Neenah, linen texture copy paper, crepe paper

Stamps: sky BG Penny Black, banner BG CHF, dots PTI, sentiment Hero Arts

Ink : Distress Ink, Jenny Bowlin, Versamark

Tools:die Sizzix

Other:  twine, washi, bead, vintage yarn

tag a la Jennifer M. (Ellen Hutson, CUYL, SSS, SS)

Give me Peacock Feathers and Broken China Distress Ink and an ink applicator and I'm a happy camper. That's what first came to mind when I saw Simon Says Stamp's challenge to use one of your Favorite Things (tool, product, stamp).  Add a couple of challenges to the mix and I'm a really happy camper.

On Day 4 Jennifer M. created a work of art over at Ellen Hutson's Classroom for the Feminine Twist on 12 Tags.  You should check out those mirrored pieces she used - now there's one thing I don't have in my stash.  I had to go with what I have.

So I took inspiration from Challenge Up Your Life's #84 colors

and Stamping Sensations "Treemendous" challenge and this is what I came up with.

You'll probably never see a reed bird perched on an evergreen bough anywhere but here!  Or lilac snowflakes!  But I've got the distress inked BG under a StazOn stamped piece of acetate (cool effect BTW, Jennifer), a bird, a branch and snowflakes.  Even used a "Joy" sentiment.  And if you look closely you might catch the Stickles on the flakes and birdie's head and the glitter CS for the bough.

And purple, lilac, teal and light blue?  Check.

And a tree?  How 'bout a branch - will that do?

Happy Friday, friends.

Supplies for JOY:

Paper: CS Neenah, glitter CS DCWV, recycled acetate, purple CS Papermania

Stamps: dots BG CHF, text (on bird and fllakes) 7 Gypsies, sentiment Hero Arts

Ink : Distress Inks, Versacolor, StazOn

Tools: dies - bough Marianne Creatables, bird Memory Box, snowflakes Sizzix

Other: pearls, ribbon