Happy New Year!

Well, I still don't have a means of posting pictures (other than downloaded clipart) using my temporary replacement computer, but the good news is that the new motherboard is finally "in the house" and ready to be installed as soon as awesome Cousin Mark can come and do it. I'm not touching that thing again!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I know I did! My fabulous kids and kids-in-law bought me a new flat-screen HTDV. How awesome is that?!!! My son-in-law said he'd come and hook it up when Cablevision delivered my HD DVR, and that came last night too! Can't wait!!! It's gonna be a good weekend!

As far as the new year goes, I am only too happy to say goodbye to 2009. While some really good things did happen (like my son marrying my beautiful, wonderful and talented daughter-in-law), there were some really crappy things this year, too. Let's hope that 2010 kicks 2009's butt!

I have actually been looking forward to spending this New Year's Eve quietly at home alone. This is my plan: since my goal for 2010 is to finally get published, I will spend tonight making cards for submission. At least one — we'll see how the mojo goes. I have a split of champagne (a favor from my cousin's wedding this past spring) chilling in the refrigerator, so I'm good to go!

I want to thank you for following my blog, and I hope to have lots of papercrafting goodness (and maybe a cake or two!) for you to gaze upon soon.

I wish you all a happy, HEALTHY, and prosperous new year.

So sad....

I have no pictures to post for you until after Christmas. Sadly, the motherboard on my computer is fried, according to my awesome cousin Mark (everyone should have a cousin Mark!), although as far as he can ascertain, it has nothing to do with anything I might have done (whew!). I've ordered a replacement board, which he will install when it comes, but it won't be until after Christmas.

I do have pictures of the holiday cards I finally sent out (well, most of them, anyway), but they are stuck in the limbo that is my hard drive. Thankfully, awesome cousin Mark lent me a little netbook to use until the new motherboard (hopefully) gets me back up and running. So I will take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday. Hopefully I'll be able to post some eye candy before the new year!

Happy Sweet 16!

Yesterday was my niece Hannah's 16th birthday (how did that happen?!!!), and since she should have gotten her card by now, it's safe to post it here. I raided my stash make it as sparkly as possible, and used a cupcake theme because they are as sweet as she is.

The "sweet" letters are some glitter stickers I had in my stash, and the bling-y "16" is from the Zva Alphabet. The glittery hearts are from a K & Co pack I had in my stash (I have a really big stash). I used my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder on the Chocolate Chip CS to give the background some texture. The patterned circles are cut from pieces in my stash also. I know one of them is from my Urban Prairie pad. I think Kate at i {heart} papers used to carry the cupcake paper, but I don't see it any more. The cupcake stamp is from Papertrey Ink. I embossed the bottom with brown EP, and I coated the top of it with Rock Candy Stickles.

Anyhow, if you're reading this, Hannah, I hope you had a wonderful day — and as I said in the card, your present is on its way!

Eat, Drink & Be Merry (an IHP challenge)

This month our DT Challenge Coordinator (Deb) gave us sort of a double challenge — we had to use one of the new My Mind’s Eye collection kits, and whatever we made with it had to have something to do with “Eat, Drink & Be Merry.”

I interpreted this as being anything to do with a party, so I used a sheet of the adorable paper from the Love Me Do collection kit and made a party popper favor and a cupcake wrapper (using the Bigz Perfect Settings die from SU!). You can see that the paper is double-sided, so it was perfect for this. The yellow tissue paper was the only color I had laying around at the moment (how lucky was I?), and the ends of the favor are tied with Red 1/4” Glimmer Ribbon. The favor itself, of course, is made from an empty TP roll. (And yes, I made the cupcake – several actually!)

Both pieces are super-easy. Just because this kit is intended for Valentine’s Day doesn’t limit you to that one occasion! Can’t you just see a whole table decorated with coordinating favors and cupcakes for a birthday party?

Do you have any “Eat, Drink & Be Merry” ideas to share? Join the challenge, and let me know! If you post it in a gallery, use the keyword ihp1209 so we can find it.

And check out the rest of the design team to see how they met the challenge:

Amber
Cathleen
Deb
Gretchen
Kate
Kendra
Lori
Lynn
Megan
Merry
Tracy (check hers a little later – around 11am)

Have a great day!

On the 12th day of Christmas...

i {heart} papers is the sponsor of Day 12 (12 drummers drumming) of the 12 Days of Christmas event over at Paper Craft Planet. It's a fun scavenger hunt, so go play for a chance to win!

Home for the Holidays

This is how I spent the better part of today – making this adorable gift box that looks like a cozy holiday cottage. Lauren Meader is a freakin’ genius – how she comes up with these templates is beyond me. Yes, it is very time consuming to make one of these (definitely not for mass production!), but the precision with which the pattern was made makes it go together perfectly.

I didn’t add a whole lot of detail, and I forgot about the curtains for the windows until I was doing the sides of the house, but I really just wanted to see how much of a PITA it would be to construct the first time. Like I said, time consuming, but not difficult.

I have no idea who I’m giving this to (if I can even bear to part with it), or what I’d put inside. You can’t tell from the photo, but the house is only about 5” from the bottom to the peak of the roof. It is fairly sturdy, though I don’t know how much weight I would put in it. I’ll have to give it some thought, but whoever gets it is gonna have to be someone pretty darned special!

What I used:
Stamps: PTI Home Made & Believe (for the wreath on the door)
Ink: Palette Charcoal, PTI Terracotta Tile & Lemon Tart, Copic markers
Paper: SU Bordering Blue & Going Grey, Classic Crest White, scrap of terracotta patterned paper from my Marrakech pad (Basic Grey)
Other: PTI Home Made template, Polar White Flower Soft, PTI Terracotta Tile satin ribbon

Black Friday Sale at i {heart} papers!!!

The leftovers are all put away, and now it's time for some serious fun! The fabulous i {heart} papers Black Friday sale is finally here!

Here are the details:

FREE SHIPPING on US orders $25 or more ($75 or more for Canadian orders) PLUS…

• For every $50 spent, you will receive a $10 gift certificate towards a future purchase. That’s like an automatic 10% off coupon ON EVERYTHING – even new and sale items! Orders do not combine however they are incremental, meaning, a single order of $50 earns you one $10 gift certificate and a single order of $100 earns a $20 reward certificate. You cannot however place one order for $20 and another for $30 and qualify for the gift certificate. Additionally at $45 order and $55 order does not qualify for you for a $20 reward.
• Qualification amount does not include shipping total – it is merchandise total only.
• Following the sale, on December 1, you will receive a one-time use $10 gift certificate for every $50 order you place during the qualification period. Minimum order amount for qualification is $50.
• Gift Certificate purchases are not included in the sale.
• Rewards certificates are valid for redemption beginning December 1, 2009.
• Reward certificates are transferable.
• Sales runs 12:01am (EST) Friday November 27 – 11:59pm (EST) Sunday November 29
• You must enter the Coupon code from the banner ad at the time of ordering.
  
• Can not be redeemed for cash or combined with any other discounts/coupons.

Have fun!

Mazel Tov, Joseph!

This weekend I had the privilege of witnessing my nephew Joseph become a Bar Mitzvah. He did a magnificent job and I am so proud of the impressive young man he has become! And I suppose I must forgive him for suddenly being taller than his Aunt Carolyn.

The prayer shawl he wore was a beautiful burgundy/black iridescent silk, so I wanted the packaging for his gift to tie in with the colors. I borrowed Nichole’s Bank Book & Box idea and did it in Scarlet Jewel and Brushed Gold.

This is an awesome way to package up a gift of cash, but you could also slip a check into the gold cord instead.

Anyhow, it was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of family and lots of food! And I’m sure Joseph (and his mother) is glad it’s all over with!

What I used:
Stamps: PTI Mazel Tov
Ink: Memento Black, Versamark, Copic markers
Paper: SU Brushed Gold, PTI Scarlet Jewel & Vintage Cream
Other: gold embossing powder, gold satin ribbon, gold cord, gold brads, Nestabilities,

IHP November DT Challenge

Every month, Deb Felts, our i {heart} papers Design Team Challenge Dominatrix Torturer Coordinator, assigns us a task. In the past, there have been challenges based on specific products or themes. This month, however, Deb showed us a card that she especially liked (made by Joanne Grzelak) and challenged us to use it as a sketch to base our own cards on. Pretty card, yes? Hmmmm. But did anyone realize that in order to get those triangles to line up that way, you had to do MATH?!!!!

I resisted the temptation to call my son the Math Doctor (yes, he really does have a PhD in Mathematics), and kinda figured it out myself. And just to be contrary, I flipped the layout around. Here is my answer to the challenge:

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I do NOT like snow. At all. It’s pretty to look at… for about 10 seconds. Then I’m over it. So when I saw this Changito Snow Play set, I knew it would be mine if only for the “make it stop” stamp!

But there certainly are a lot of snowflakes on this card! The snowflake embellishment was made using Nestabilities Create a Flake 1 and a bit of Icicle Stickles. The patterned paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly 6” pad. And texture is added to the Sweet Blush (PTI) strip of cardstock with a Quickutz Snowflake embossing folder. All of these supplies (except the cardstock) are from i {heart} papers, of course.

OK, if you’ve read this far, you deserve to know how to make the triangles :-)

For the big one, start with a 4” square of white cardstock. Along one side of it, make a little mark at 2”. Now connect that spot to the 2 opposite corners to form a triangle and cut it along the lines. For the smaller ones, do the same thing starting with 2” squares marked at 1” along one side. I just hand-trimmed the Hibiscus Burst (PTI) layer around it. (If you look closely, the angles on this card are a wee bit off because I goofed a little on the measurements of my large triangle, but you get the benefit of my experience!)

We’d love it if you took the challenge yourself. Go ahead, I dare you! And if you do, please let me know and post it to the Splitcoast and/or Papercraft Planet galleries tagged with “ihp1109” so we can find it.

And check out what the rest of the DT did with the challenge:

Kate
Cathleen
Deb
Gretchen
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Kendra
Amber

Happy stampin’!

Let’s Party!

Today marks the i {heart} papers release of yet another adorable stamp set from Chicken Girl Design. This one is called Birthday Wishes, and the images in this, as in all of Jannie Ho’s sets, just beg to be paper-pieced. So I couldn’t resist making a pink elephant for this card; don’t you see pink elephants when you party?!!

The paper is all from the Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6x6 pad. I lightly edged the rectangles with a black marker to set them off a little against the Sweet Blush (PTI) base. I used the layout from the Saturday Sketch Challenge #124 (sort of). 

Remember, Chicken Girl Design stamps are ONLY available from i {heart} papers. So go get your hands on this brand-new set and make something adorable! And when you post it in the Splitcoast or Papercraft Planet galleries, don’t forget to tag it with IHPCGD so we can all find it.

Have a great week, and stay tuned tomorrow for the IHP Design Team Challenge.

A Holiday Card You Can Play With!

The general concept for this card came to me as I was falling asleep the other night; I wanted to find another way to use the Shake It Pouch for something other than the standard shaker card. When I saw Taylor’s sketch challenge today, it was so perfect for my idea that I had to try it right away! 

First, here’s the card:Nice, yes? Fits Taylor’s sketch, pretty colors, blah, blah, blah…  But let’s take another look at that wreath:

Do you remember those little games where you have to get the little balls into the holes? That’s what I made here! I spent half the morning looking for the right image to use, and once I found this wreath in Papertrey’s 2008 Holiday Tag Collection, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

Here’s a little rundown of how I did it. First of all, I used a small circle Shake It Pouch (available at i {heart} papers) for the game. The base is actually 3 layers of white cardstock, cut with circle Nestabilities to the size of the outer dimension of the shaker piece. The top layer is stamped, then attached with lots of adhesive to the second layer. I then punched holes through both layers using an eyelet punch (Silent Setter that I haven’t used in eons!). Then I attached the third white layer to the back, being careful to only use glue around the edges and in the center so there would be no glue near the holes.

Then I applied the red Liquid Pearls to the outer dots and waited (forever!) for it to dry before I put the little gold balls into the holes, peeled the sticky backing off the outer edge of the shaker pouch, and stuck it onto the whole thing. BTW, the little gold balls are small edible dragées that I got at the baking supply store. If you can’t find those, you can use the silver dragées they sell in the supermarket which are a bit bigger. Just use a larger punch for the holes.

The frame was made by nesting plain circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities, and I used my Martha pine bough punch for additional embellishment.

I used PTI Scarlet Jewel and Ripe Avocado, SU! Brushed Gold cardstock, and the Basic Grey Wassail 6x6 pad.

This was a really fun card to make, and I confess that I’ve played with it several times already! If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I’ll try to answer.

Just Skating By…

  It’s not every day you get to make a birthday card for someone using stamps they designed! And now that I know she’s received it, I can share it with you!

When I saw the magical marquee card that Diana Gibbs made a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to make one, so I followed her link to JanTink’s awesome tutorial. As luck would have it, the designer of these stamps (Jannie Ho) had a birthday coming up, and these little guys from Just Skating By were perfect for what I had in mind.

Now here’s the magic — when you open the card, this is what you see:

Fun!!!! And not as difficult as it looks, especially with JanTink’s tutorial. I had to hand write the greeting inside, because even though I have 65 million stamps, I didn’t have a “happy birthday” with the right kind of font! And that birthday cake in the middle? That’s a sneak peek from Jannie’s new set that will be released exclusively by i {heart} papers next week.

Jannie, I hope you loved the card as much as I loved making it! And I hope your birthday was as special as you are!

For sweet little Henry

This week has been a very sad one. Henry Morgan Anderson, the 3 year old son of our former DT member Sarah Anderson and her husband Darrin, died Monday, November 2, 2009, after being unable to overcome a virus that made him ill last week. Henry enjoyed almost daily visits to the local zoo. There, he would watch the feeding and care given to the various animals.

Lorie Ames has organized a way to donate for a memorial for Henry. As a memorial, trees will be planted at that zoo in his honor. Melissa at Pink Cat Studio has created a digital stamp to help raise funds for a tree for Henry. I’ve used the digital stamp in my card above, as well as a digital greeting that Melissa has available on the site. All proceeds from the sale of the digi stamp, minus Paypal costs, will go towards the tree.

If you would like to donate towards the tree, please visit PCS to purchase the digi stamp that I used on my card today. Another way to donate to the memorial is to print out this form and mail in your donation directly. You can send in any amount using the form. The funds will be pooled.

Please be sure to write on the form that the donation is for Sarah Anderson’s son, Henry. Once all of the money is collected, a tree and location will be selected. If you have questions about the form please contact Lorie Ames. Lorie will be in contact with Sarah along this memorial journey to ensure that her wishes are followed.

To contact Lorie, please visit her blog.

If you don’t know Sarah and would like to learn more about her, please visit her blog.

Thank you for your help in raising money for a tree for Henry.

Birthday Blog Candy WINNER!

A big "Thanks" to all of you who entered and are now my blog followers, and to all those who wished me a happy birthday. It was, indeed!

I'm happy to announce that LISA LOU is the winner of the blog candy! Lisa, please contact me at cmustopa (@) verizon.net with your mailing address so I can get your goodies out to you.

Have a great Monday!

Wish

I made this card a few weekends ago and completely forgot to post it! It uses one of the stamps from the Unity September kit of the month, appropriately called go ahead wish.

The dandelion image is white embossed on black, and there are green gems in the centers of the flowers, which are hard to see in this picture. I used a few of the same gems after the sentiment. The ribbon is something I picked up in the dollar bin at Michaels a couple of years ago. It goes perfectly with Kiwi Kiss cardstock.

You still have a few hours to win my Birthday Blog Candy – until midnight (EST) tonight! Go HERE for instructions. And if you are in one the states that turns the clock back tonight, enjoy the extra hour of sleep!

Birthday Blog Candy!!!

NOTE: This blog candy is finished (congratulations, Lisa!), but please feel free to Follow my blog by clicking the button on the right side of the screen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Yup, today is my birthday, and to commemorate it, I’m giving away some blog candy. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, may have heard me mention that I have too much STUFF! I’ve been trying to get organized, but the fact remains that there are things that I will never get a chance to use, and they deserve to be loved instead of languishing here. This is what I’m giving away (all in one bundle):

Would you like to win these goodies and give them a good home? Here’s all you need to do to enter: scroll down on my blog (make sure you go to my actual blog page if you’re viewing through a reader or on Facebook), and click the "Follow” button on the right side; then leave me a Comment on this post so I know who you are. You have until midnight Saturday (10/31) to enter. I will pick the winner randomly and announce it on Sunday.

I baked my own birthday cake to bring into work today, and tonight I’m being taken out to dinner at a French bistro by my wonderful family. Can’t wait!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

PTI Blog Hop time!

Holy cow – this is my THIRD post of the day! (Scroll down if you haven’t seen the others yet.) I didn’t know I had it in me, but I guess an afternoon nap and a 5:00 cup of coffee enabled me to run up a quick card for the Papertrey Blog Hop tonight.

This card came together a lot faster than it’s taking me to do the photo editing and posting on my super-sluggish computer! In fact, it will be a miracle if I can get it linked up before the deadline.

I originally embossed the cuffs of the stockings (PTI Stocking Prints) with white embossing powder, but after it was all together, I decided to put some glue on it and use some Polar White Flower Soft to give it more dimension. I used my white gel pen to make some bricks for the mantle, and a Copic marker to color in some of the leaves on the Green Tea Leaves paper to pick up the Scarlet Jewel color I used.

Enjoy the Hop!

Monstrously Old!

This was supposed to be posted for Day 6 of the IHP Birthday Bash Challenge, and clearly it wasn’t. But it’s not too late for you – you have until midnight tonight if you want to enter.

This challenge was to make a special birthday card. Well, IMHO, all my birthday cards are special! But what makes this one special, besides the fact that these adorable stamps were designed by the lovely and talented Jannie Ho, is that ALL of the men in my family with birthdays this month — 3 men in 3 different generations — got the same card. No, I am not ashamed – it’s too cute! (Paul, if you didn’t get your card yet, I guess the surprise factor is blown – sorry!)

I used Silly Monsters by Chicken Girl Design (available only through i {heart} papers). The patterned paper is from the Eerie 6x6 pad by Basic Grey. The monsters are colored with Copic markers, and the eyes have dots of Ranger Glossy Accents on them to make them stand out.

Well, I gonna finish off my weekend with some good TV tonight, and then it’s back to the grind tomorrow. But if you read this far in the post, I’ll let you in on a little secret. My birthday is coming up this week, and I’ll be giving away some blog candy – so stay tuned!

Baked Birthday Wishes

This sweet card was made for Day 5 of the IHP Birthday Bash Challenge, which was to use food or drink in a birthday card or project. Unfortunately I forgot to post it on the day it was announced, but there’s still time. If you want to enter any of the 6 challenges (or all of them!), you have until midnight tonight (10/25). Just see the i {heart} papers Birthday Bash page for all the details.

What I used:
Stamps: Changito Baker
Ink: Memento Black, Copic markers
Paper: Miss Gretel (Piggy Tales), Chocolate Chip, PTI White
Other: Nestabilities, Stickles (on the candle flames), Bow Easy (to make that perfect bow!) 

Hmmmm. I think I know just who’s getting this card…

IHP Birthday Bash Challenge – Day 4

What’s a birthday party without presents? Whether the wrappings are simple or ornate, they bring an air of suspense and delight to onlookers as the honored guest opens each gift.

Our challenge for you today is to use designer papers and ribbons to create a card, box, or bag. Remember, everything this week has to do with birthday celebrations, so be sure your creation is birthday related!

Here’s what I came up with: The paper is all glittery, so I used plenty of Stickles and Glimmer Ribbon to play it up! The tin is an Altoids container covered with paper and ribbon. The 1/4” ribbon covers the sides of the lid perfectly. It can be used for a party favor, or to hold a gift card. Full details of supplies at the end of this post.

The prize for the winner of today’s challenge is AWESOME:
October Afternoon Night Light Collection Kit PLUS
(1 yard of each):
1-1/2" Fuchsia Lace
1-1/2" Parrot Green Lace
1-1/2" Turquoise Lace
1-1/2" White Lace
1" Bright Green Silk Ribbon
1" Lavender Silk Ribbon
1" Turquoise Silk Ribbon
1" Yellow Silk Ribbon
1/2" Venise Ivory/Purple Daisy Lace
1/2" Venise Ivory/Berry Daisy Lace
1/2" Venise Ivory/Olive Daisy Lace
3/8" Black & Yellow Gingham Ribbon
3/8" Double Faced Satin Brown Ribbon
3/8" Ivory Trimmings/Lines Ribbon
3/8" Satin Reversible Orange/Yellow Ribbon
5/8" Polka Dot Brown/Pink/White/Ivory/Hot Pink Ribbon
5/8" Polka Dot Brown/Blue/White/Ivory/Turquoise/Aqua Ribbon
5/8" Sheer Metallic Silver Ribbon

Yowza! Wouldn’t you love to win this? Play along with us and you might!

Don’t forget, we have challenges going on ALL WEEK! Here are the hosts for each day. Be sure to check their blogs on their scheduled day to find out that day’s challenge. You can also check the main IHP Birthday Bash page at the store. It will be updated daily.

Day 1(10/19): Kate(owner), Sarah Anderson, and Dee Jackson
Day 2 (10/20): Deb/Latisha Yoast
Day 3 (10/21): Gretchen/Lesa Smaligo and Lynn/Asela Hopkins
TODAY Day 4 (10/22): Cathleen/Kerri Michaud and Carolyn/Maria Fiscella
Day 5 (10/23): Megan/Chris Veneruso and Kendra/Debbie Fisher
Day 6 (10/24): Tracy/Heidi Van Laar and Amber/Kerry Davis
Day 7 (10/25): Sunday, day of rest (finish up your challenges!)
Day 8 (10/26): PARTY! GRAND PRIZE (winners are announced)

Before you begin, take a few minutes to review the challenge guidelines! You’ll want to follow these rules to maximize your points and qualify for the opportunity to WIN the prize for today’s challenge and the Grand Prize, all announced on the last day of our festivities!

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. Today’s challenge tag is IHPBB4. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

To qualify for the Grand Prize of being IHP Guest Designer for the month of November, here’s how it will work: Every challenge card/project you enter will earn you points (see below), and one with the most accumulated for the week the Grand Prize winner. So the more challenges you enter, more points you earn — and the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize (and the bigger the value of your Guest Designer box will be)!

You will have until October 25th to post your work, and you can enter as many challenges as you like, but you CANNOT combine challenges in one project. All winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at the Birthday Bash on October 26th.

Birthday Bash Points

For each project:

• 5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to SCS
• 5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to PCP
• 2 points for uploading to your blog and linking at least one IHP item used to the IHP website

One time points:

• 2 points for signing up to receive our newsletter*
• 2 points for joining our PCP group*
• 2 points for becoming our fan on Facebook*
• 10 points if you participate in all 6 IHP Birthday Bash challenges

*When you sign up, or if you are already signed up, a comment on the IHP blog Birthday Bash week so your points can be credited.

IHP Supplies used for my projects:
Stamps: Birthday Cupcake, Hey There Cupcake
Paper: Fun Loving Spots & Picnic Blanket (My Mind’s Eye)
Other: Glimmer Ribbon (Mint & White), Nestabilities, Stickles (crystal)

Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

IHP Birthday Bash – Day 1!

Today is Day 1 of the i {heart} papers Birthday Bash! The challenge today is being hosted by Kate along with her guests Sarah Anderson and Dee Jackson. It’s a fun one, so I decided to play along!

Today’s challenge is to make a birthday card using the colors in the IHP logo, which are celery, light blue, rose and black. Here’s my take on it:

I used this week’s Clean & Simple FTL64 for my layout, although the focal image is a bit larger than what’s suggested! The image is from the Unity September Kit of the Month. The greeting is from All Occasions Messages, a fabulous greeting set which happens be on sale right now! I partially inked it to get only the first 2 words.

The base of the card, as well as the greeting piece and the focal piece, are shimmery white, which gives it a special look. And wouldn’t you know, Kate has paper in her store that uses just the right colors! The patterned paper on the bottom is called “Plie” Dancing Daisies from the Penny Lane collection by My Mind’s Eye. I believe it’s sold out right now, but if you love it, let her know…

Hope you can play along with today’s challenge too. There are prizes to be won!!! See Kate’s blog, or go to this page at i {heart} papers to see the full details.

IHP Birthday Bash, and A Special Gift

Get ready for the i {heart} papers Birthday Bash! That’s right, IHP is turning 1 year old this month, and a whopper of a party is planned! There's also a special gift planned to help others celebrate more birthdays. You’ll read more about that at the end of this post.

First, let’s talk about the party! There will be prizes galore (free stuff – you like free stuff, don’t you?), and a Grand Prize winner will be chosen at the end to be the IHP Guest Designer for the month of November!

There will be 6 birthday party themed challenges, one posted each day starting on Monday, October 19th. Each challenge will be hosted (and posted) by one of the IHP Design Team members. It will also be posted on the IHP Blog and on the store site HERE. Some special invited guests will be posting throughout the week, too! Each challenge will have its own prize.

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. The tag (and the prize) for that day’s challenge will be posted on that day. You will have until October 25^th to post your work, and you can enter as many challenges as you like, but you CANNOT combine challenges in one project. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

To qualify for the Grand Prize of being IHP Guest Designer for the month of November, here’s how it will work: Every challenge card/project you enter will earn you points (see the list below), and the one with the most points accumulated for the week will be the Grand Prize winner. So the more challenges you enter, the more points you earn — and the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize (and the bigger the value of your Guest Designer box will be)!

All winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at the Birthday Bash on October 26^th.

So get ready to PARTY!!!! You won’t want to miss the fun!

Birthday Bash Points

For each project:

• 5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to SCS
• 5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to PCP
• 2 points for uploading to your blog and linking at least one IHP item used to the IHP website

One time points:

• 2 points for signing up to receive our newsletter*
• 2 points for joining our PCP group*
• 2 points for becoming our fan on Facebook*
• 10 points if you participate in all 6 IHP Birthday Bash challenges

*When you sign up, or if you are already signed up, leave a comment on the IHP blog during Birthday Bash week so your points can be credited.

A Special Gift
Because i {heart} papers loves birthdays so much, they’ve decided to contribute 10% of sales, beginning on October 19^th and through the end of October, to Hope Lodge New York City. Hope Lodge, run by the American Cancer Society, “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays,” offers free, temporary housing for cancer patients and their families who are undergoing treatment. The nurturing, comfortable environment at Hope Lodge allows patients to focus on what is most important - fighting cancer. What better way to celebrate a birthday than to help those who are helping more birthdays happen!

What happened to Autumn?!!!

Here in the northeast, we seem to have skipped over autumn completely! I can’t remember a time when I had to drag my warm winter jacket out before Halloween.

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, and  I apologize for that. Sometimes life redirects your energy and you just have to go with it. But things are getting back to “normal” and hopefully my creative energy will get a little more play!

Anyhow, the idea for this card has been kicking around in my head for a while. Tonight it finally came together. I used Taylor’s TESC86 sketch challenge for it, and one of the Shake It pouches with some Autumn Mix Flower Soft. I forgot I even had this old leaf punch, but it came in handy for adding a little extra something to the card. Oh, and it’s hard to see, but I outlined the gold patterned paper with a metallic gold gel pen to give it a little shimmer.

What I used:
Stamps: Tiny Trinity (Unity)
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber
Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer pad, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, PTI White
Other: Autumn Mix Flower Soft, large round Shake It pouch, leaf punch, Nestabilities, Fiskars border punch, Eclipse masking tape 
 

Happy Fall, Y’all!