Exciting News!!! I'm Guest Designing for...

Limelight Papercrafts this month! I am super excited to be able to work with the Limelight Team and play with some of the fabulous products Limelight carries! Mandy has a little post introducing me on her blog today if you want to check it out HERE.

I received lots of Limelight goodies Friday night and couldn't wait to play with my new Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg papers!

So, I used the current Limelight Sketch to create a card. If you have some time to do a little crafting today, you have until midnight tonight to create a project using this sketch with a focus on butterflies and link it up to THIS POST for your chance to win 2 Stampendous butterfly stamps!

Here is the card I created:

I just love the colors and patterns in the Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg line! I am sure you will see me using these papers up quickly! The butterfly is a random chipboard piece I had lying around (possibly Scenic Route) and I covered it up with some cardstock but it just looked too plain. So I decided to stamp it with my Unity Distressed Dots background stamp. This tends to be my go to stamp when I want to add a subtle design/texture to a card or element. Then I finished off the card with some pretty May Arts brown satin ribbon and a gorgeous button from Jillibean Soup!

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to stay tuned for lots more Limelight projects this month!

And in case you haven't heard yet, Mandy is currently looking for a few new Design Team members. So, if you have ever wanted to be on a Design Team or maybe you are already on one but would also love to join the Limelight Team...check out THIS POST for all the details!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #60

Happy Halloween everyone! Boy do we have some big treats for you this week! :) You will want to be sure to participate in the Etsy Inspired Challenge for your chance to win one of 3 fabulous prizes!

Our featured shop this week is one that I fell in love with immediately! I have featured this shop in one of my Top 3 Tuesday posts and have purchased from this shop too so I am very excited to share, once again, this wonderful shop with you...Vivikas Toy Art. I am confident you will be inspired by her adorable owls and other fun stuffys! :)

Just look at these adorable little guys:



This is the sweet little owlie I purchased and it is one of the prizes you could win this week too! I was inspired by my owl the other night. At first I thought I would make a card with an owl image and colors similar to him but then he was looking at me with those big owl eyes and I decided he needed a little card friend! :)


I am so pleased with how this card turned out! Vivian's owls are just such a cute design and I think it translated well onto this card. I would be happy to make some of these up for you Vivian! Just convo me! :)

Of course, I had to show you the happy couple together too!

So along with a chance to win my favorite little owlie, you could also win THIS owl or THIS fabulous Unity stamp set if you play along with us this week! Unity is having a great sale this weekend too that includes some special limited releases!

Never played in the Etsy Inspired Challenge before? Click HERE for details on how to play along...all you need is a little inspiration and creativity! And I am sure you have someone on your Christmas list who would love one of these owls or the Unity stamp set!

Check out Vivikas Toy Art to find some inspiration and be sure to leave a comment on the Etsy Inspired Blog with a link to your project by Friday at noon PST.

Take a peek at the fun creations from the rest of the Design Team too!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Mandy (October Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Halloween Party!

Halloween is almost here...what will you be doing this weekend? Handing out candy, trick or treating with your kids, or going to a party? We usually do a bit of everything...fun, fun, fun!

I wanted to share a Halloween layout I did recently documenting my youngest son's first Halloween.

I used BoBunny's Boo Crew collection for this layout...such a cute line! It sold out quickly at my local scrapbook store. I used the Martha Stewart spider web border punch to add a fun element to the journaling spot.

Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween! I will be back on Saturday with my Etsy Inspired project and on Sunday I have some special news to share with you all!!! :)

Top 3 Tuesday - For the Kids!

As the holiday season quickly approaches I am on the lookout for fun and unique gifts for kids. This past week I found 3 great Etsy shops that offer fabulous natural toys for children. So think about the kiddos you have on your list...I'm sure at least one of these shops will have a great gift idea for you!

First up is little alouette, a wonderful shop offering wood teethers and rattles for the wee ones on your list.

I love the moon and star teethers...what a great baby shower gift those would be. And the second picture is actually a rattle, which of course all kids love! Little alouette has a lot of great, natural wood teethers to choose from...cars, dinosaurs, butterflies, and trees to name a few.

Next up is a shop filled with amazing felted wool toys...great for any age! One look at Vicky's shop, Asher Jasper, and you are sure to fall in love with her whimsical toys and fun packaging!



Absolutely adorable, right?! I think any little one would have tons of fun with these. I know my son would love the cute animals and the fact that they are little balls would also be a bonus! :) Plus they come in this cute, new egg carton too...how fun is that?!


Vicky also can make her little wool animals into necklace charm pendants too.

Asher Jasper is filled with many adorable felted wool animals as well as people (multicultural...yeah!), holiday themed sets, and even a snow white and the seven dwarfs set which is quite impressive!

And speaking of impressive, I am pretty sure this amazing playscape was created with lots and lots of time and love.


Are you ready to go shopping yet?! Well wait until you see what this last shop has to offer all the kids on your list! Dream Child Studio is for all those imaginative and creative kids out there.

What princess wouldn't love a crown like this?!

Especially when you combine it with some Fairy bell rings!

One of my favorite gift items from Dream Child Studio is the Make Your Own Little Woodland Family Craft Kit...already packaged up and ready for giving the gift of creativity!



I hope you've enjoyed the shops I've featured today and maybe even found a gift or two for the kiddos on your list!

Have a wonderful day!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #59

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been MIA this week but I have been fighting a bug and taking care of a sick kiddo too. I think we are on the mend though...yeah!

This week's featured Etsy shop is the little red door, an absolutely adorable pottery shop. I just love all the little ceramic houses in this shop!

My first inspiration this week came from this cute Halloween pumpkin house.


I took the colors and an adorable digital stamp from Your Next Stamp to create this Halloweeen card:


Your Next Stamp has tons of cute images and they have a fun challenge going on right now too!

I was also inspired by this cute little pendant I found in the sold section. If you love this apple pendant, I'm sure you could contact the little red door and see if another one could be made! :)


I like how this little gift bag turned out. I think it would be great to give to a teacher for Thanksgiving or for the end of the year... filled with goodies of course! :)

Now it's your turn to play along!
- Check out the little red door
- Find an item that inspires you
- Create a project of your own
- Post your project to your blog or other online gallery
- Leave a comment on the Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog with a link to your project by Friday at noon PST for your chance to win a great prize!

Check out the Etsy Inspired Blog for extra details, including the prizes for this week!

And take a moment to visit the rest of the Design Team too! I'm sure they all have a little something to help inspire you!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Mandy (October Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Etsy Inspired Challenge #58 - Linkel Designs

Happy Saturday! I hope you all had a great week! Mine has been busy but yet I still feel as if I didn't get much accomplished. :( Here's to hoping I have some time this weekend to knock off a few more things on my 'to do' list! :)

For this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge we have another great jewelry shop for you to be inspired by...Linkel Designs. I was inspired by these two beautiful fall pieces:



So I used some of my Reminisce paper and stickers to create these fall cards:


I just love fall...the changing of the leaves is so pretty here in Washington.

Now it's your turn!
Linkel Designs will be sending this week's winner, these pretty earrings. For your chance to win simply check out Linkel Designs and find a piece that inspires you, create a project based off that inspiration and leave a comment on the Etsy Inspired Challeng Blog with a link to your project by Friday, Oct. 23rd at noon PST.

Click on the links below to see what the rest of the Design Team has created this week!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Mandy (October Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Limelight Papercrafts Challenge #32

Get out your ribbon...it's time for a special Limelight Papercrafts Sketch and Product Challenge! Mandy gave the Etsy Inspired Design Team the opportunity to participate with her and the Limelight Papercrafts Design Team this month for their challenge. She even sent us a few goodies to create our projects with...thanks Mandy!

Here is the sketch for this month.


With Fall in full swing and November around the corner, I am getting in the holiday spirit, so I used the sketch to make a Thanksgiving card as well as a fun little Christmas gift tag.


My card features fabulous May Arts ribbon from Limelight Papercrafts. I frayed the edges of the white twill and brown satin ribbons to add a little texture to the card. I also used Basic Grey Offbeat patterned papers and coordinating brown button. The sentiment is from Unity's Gratitude=Joy set. And don't you just love that mustard colored flower?! Limelight Papercrafts carries a great set of Harvest Bean Seed flowers from Jillibean Soup.

Next up, my Christmas tag:

How fun is that little Tree Gnome from Odd Bird Planet? (You can click on the picture to get a closer look.) I think I will be making a few more of these tags to hang on some gift bags this holiday season!

I used more of the white twill ribbon, some Kaisercraft rhinestones, and the Merry Christmas sentiment is from Unity's Bitty Christmas Tags set.

Now it's your turn to play along! Simply create a card based off of the sketch and make sure to include some ribbon! Then upload it to your blog or online gallery (keyword LLPC32) and post a comment on Mandy's blog with the link to your project. You have until Sunday, October 18th at midnight to play and guess what you could win? Some fabulous ribbon of course! Mandy will be giving one lucky winner THESE great Pink Paislee Tinsel Town Ribbons.

Be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful creations from the Limelight Papercrafts and Etsy Inspired Design Team members:

• *Mandy Cheshire
  
  *Sarah Martina
• *Lisa Henke
• *Jennifer Taylor (JenMarie)
• *Ryann Salamon
• *Amy Castellano
• *Lee Murphy

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Joy
• Kristen
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Top 3 Tuesday - For the Love of Trees

I am a tree lover. I just think they are one of nature's great beauties and are certainly such an important part of our environment. A walk through the woods is my idea of a nice, peaceful outing...fresh air, a quiet stroll, listening to all of the sounds the creatures of the forest make. Take a stroll with me will you through these great tree loving shops...

First enter the colorful forest that Angela Vandenbogaard has created in her shop, Jellybeans.























I love the names of Angela's pieces...Circle of Friends, Stand by Me, Wishing Tree.

And can you see the little branch of love in the heart tree? How sweet would that be for a little girl's room or just as a Valentine's Day gift or decoration.

Isn't this Seedling print cute too?! What a unique gift to give to new parents.

Angela also creates custom family forests. What color tree would you be? I think I would be a blue/green color, my hubby would probably be a green, and my boys would be orange and yellow (our little rays of sunshine!).

Next, let's head on over to the whimsical forest Wanda has created in her shop, Maple Shade Kids.


How adorable are these little owls?! I think these would be so cute in any child's room and you can choose which owls or birds you like best...click here to see other options.

Are you enjoying our little walk? Can you hear these sweet little birdies chirping? :)

Well I think we can agree that Wanda's designs are adorable, so let me tell you another reason I chose her shop for this week. Maple Shade Kids is extremely eco-conscious, using a combination of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood and rescued wood, soy based stain, recycled papers, and non-toxic sealer.

Check out Maple Shade Kids for more fabulous, eco-friendly products!

And what better way to end our little walk through the forest than with a little tree hugging courtesy of hi tree!

Just look at this wonderful giant Sequoia pillow! How can you resist hugging this tree?! :)

Hi tree has a lot of great tree and leaf designs and a variety of products such as pillows, keychains, earrings, and even tape measures for you to enjoy!

Here are two more of my favorites from hi tree:


Take a deep breath, enjoy that fresh air...now go hug, save, plant or buy a tree! :)

As always I'd love to hear your favorites this week, and I'm sure the featured shops would love to hear your thoughts too! :) Tell me...what color or kind of tree would you be?

ETA: For more fabulous tree items, check out my newest treasury featuring my Top 3 and several other great shops! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=71737

Etsy Inspired Challenge #57

Welcome to another Etsy Inspired Challenge! All you paper lovers are going to want to be sure to play this week because our fabulous October Guest Designer and owner of Limelight Papercrafts, Mandy, is giving away some Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg goodies to the lucky winner!

This week's featured Etsy shop is Kharlie Bug, offering fun handbags and cosmetic bags. I was inspired by the pretty fabrics she uses, especially from these two bags:



All the pink inspired me to create this sweet baby girl card.

Here's a peek at the inside too. It says, 'Cheerful congratulations on your newest addition to the family.' Do you like the little button flower? I created it myself using two buttons and some silver ribbon. I just used glue dots to help keep the ribbon in place as I created loops around the button.

Now it's your turn to play along with us! Head on over to Kharlie Bug to find something that inspires you and then create a project of your own. When you're finished be sure to post a comment on the Etsy Inspired blog along with a link to your Etsy Inspired project for your chance to win this week's prize. This week you can also get 5 extra entries when you purchase an item from Kharlie Bug's shop!!!

Take a peek at what the rest of the Design Team has created this week:

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Mandy (October Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Enjoy your weekend! I am headed to a soccer game today and we might hit the pumpkin patch tomorrow...should be fun! :)