My "She Art" Card :)

I had to smile when I read my friend Lesa's comment on my Counterfeit Kit for this month-she said I went artsy! :)  Usually my style is WAY on the cutesy side, so this month is totally different for me.  I am having so much fun with it, tough!  I was SO VERY HAPPY with my first "she art" project:

I used a brand new stamp set from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co. called "Angie Girl: Dream with your Heart".  You can get it HERE-just scroll down until you see my pic, click "Choose", and you will be linked to all of {ippity}s stamp sets.
I pieced her skirt from different papers in my April kit.  The only thing that wasn't part of my original kit was the Studio Calico label sticker.  This was leftover from one of my 2011 Counterfeit Kits-it was perfect for this stamped sentiment.
Thanks for popping by!

Lily Pad Cards' First Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Lily Pad Cards’ First Birthday blog hop! You should be joining us from Pia’s blog. There are three prize packages with a total retail value of over $300! These prizes will be awarded by random draw. To be eligible, you need to “like” us on Facebook HERE. For even more chances to win, comment on the blogs participating in this hop (including the Lily Pad). For each comment, you get your name entered again (just one comment per blog, please!) Many of our blogs have some blog candy of their own to give away, too! Start hopping at the Lily Pad Cards blog so that you won't miss any of the fabulous birthday cards or blog candy!

This hop features birthday cards, but I chose to make a 1st birthday card, since it's Lily Pad Cards' 1st birthday. You could easily change this for any birthday by just changing the number, or leaving it off altogether. Get ready for some Paper Smooches cuteness:

Isn't that pup just too cute? He is from Paper Smooches' Chubby Chums. I just got this set and couldn't wait to ink it up! I love to mix and match my stamp sets, so I added a party hat from {ippity}, a number 1 from Unity, and a sentiment from Studio Calico. Spreading the love, lol! Paper is from a mix of companies, too: Cosmo Cricket, DCWV, Heidi Grace, Bo Bunny, and Basic Grey.

Ready for some blog candy? I have some brand-spanking new {ippity} to give away! It's so new that I can't even share a sneak with you yet, but I have it right here on my desk, ready to send to one lucky winner! Unity designer Angie Blom has created our April release sets for us, and I am giving away a set called "Let Your Heart Take Flight." To be entered to win, you must leave me a comment on this post AND be a follower of my blog. All comments for the Lily Pad prize package and my blog candy must be received by midnight (EST) on Sunday, April 8th. Check back on Monday, April 9th to see if you are a winner!

I am so glad that you hopped by today! The next stop on the hop is the amazing

Vanessa Menhorn:

http://www.wingsofabutterfly-vanessa.blogspot.com/

If you hit a bad link, you can always go back to the Lily Pad (http://www.lilypad.inlinkz.com) to view the master list of blog links. Please report any bad links to aris@inlinkz.com. Happy hopping!

Counterfeit Kit Cards

Today is the last day of the month, so I am TRYING to use up as much of my July Counterfeit Kit as I can. I have three layouts in mind that I want to make, but I have to print some photos. I decided to make some cards using the smaller pieces of paper and some of my embellies. The lighting on these is a little wonky...not sure WHAT'S going on with that! Someday I'll learn how to use all of the features on my camera and photo software. :)I love the coral and teal color combo, so I made this card using scraps of each and some of the Basic Grey Hopscotch stickers. I reddened the pink sticker a bit with chalk to make it match my paper, and the butterflies are stickers from the same sheet.

(Sorry-these cards are now both out for publication!)

This one's kind of corny, but hey-that's me. :) I hadn't planned on using the "boombox "paper with this kit (the reverse is my "clothesline" print), but it was cute and I thought it would stretch my kit a bit to make a boy card. I think that all of the neutrals balance out the teal and orange. I used my chalks again to recolor the white letter stickers a teal color. Those chalks have been a great resource for me this month! I also "raided" my June kit for the tiny black alphas and black cardstock scraps.

Yep-another corny sentiment. :) I saw a stamp set once that had a camera and "Oh, snap!" as the sentiment. The idea was cute and stuck with me. I knew when I made my kit that I wanted to pair that sentiment with the camera paper. I attached a ribbon camera strap to the camera that I cut from patterned paper. I wrote "I missed your birthday!" on the inside of the card using those same black tiny alphas from my June kit.

Christmas (in July) Layout

***Please note that this is my 2nd post for today. Please scroll down for the Master Forgers' Blog Hop post. Thank you! ***


I really wanted to use my 4th of July add-on kit from this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge, but I didn't have any pictures from this past 4th of July. I did, however, have these photos of a trip that my son, Ryan, and I took way back in December of 2007. We went to Washington, D.C. as part of the Wreaths Across America convoy. On this trip, Ryan placed a Christmas wreath on a grave at Arlington, and he also visited the grave of a soldier he had learned about in his Enrichment Resources class. We also got to meet the soldier's wife and daughter. It was by far the most meaningful trip that either one of has ever taken.

Everything on this layout is from either my July main kit or the 4th of July add-on. I stamped the banners at the top using a photo corner stamp from {ippity}. I also used a Unity Christmas bough stamp to stamp the red strip at the bottom with watermark ink. I am entering this layout in the "My Unity Place" Banners challenge.

Chicago Style Deep Dish

I have been scrapbooking this weekend-not just cardmaking, but REALLY scrapbooking! This is a one-page layout that I made using my July Counterfeit Kit. If you haven't checked out the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, you need to hop on over there-right now! :) We have some amazing tutorials and inpsiration projects posted already this month, with more to come!
For this layout, I tried my hand at paper pleating. There are tutorials listed on the blog, but I tried my own version and machine-stitched across the top. This is a super simple layout, so

there's really not much else to say about it. One thing I would add is that I re-colored my chipboard letters and the "loopy" border sticker at the top using my old chalks. It really helped me to make the most of my kit contents, plus use up a little bit of my chalk! I also stamped a little "mmm..." near my title using a stamp from my donut stamp set that I included in my kit. Thanks for checking it out!

Hang in There

Just another quick share-not for any challenges, just for a friend who needs to cheering up. I made this card from my July Counterfeit Kit. I changed up the chipboard letters a bit by chalking them with teal chalk. This color made them pop a little bit more on the green patterned paper. I also added the two pewter brads and the two mini clothespins. These were the last two pewter brads in my stash, and the clothespins have been clipped to my memo board for years! So even though these items weren't part of my original kit, I feel good about using them up. Oh, and the socks were hand-cut from the scrap of felt I had included in my kit. Thanks for checking out my card!