A "Pinteresting" Hip Hop Thursday!...

Yeah, so I'm a little in LOVE with Pinterest.
Are YOU?

Seriously, every time I turn around there is something I want to cook or make or buy...it is dangerous that way, although since I can't buy any of it I am content window shopping... much more fun online than having to get out to the mall and then not spend money, right?  LOL

What started out as this teeny little "invitation only" group has blown up into one of the highlights of MANY of my friend's days...and I can't say I'm not a huge fan, myself!

So today, at UNITY STAMP CO. for Hip Hop, we are getting PIN-spired...Pinterest Inspired!

I'm using this week's Deconstructed Sketch to kick off my creation today:

LOVE this one- Jen is crankin' out some of my fave sketches to DATE this month and next- so stay tuned!

Today I found a pin that I re-pinned 36 weeks ago... very early in my Pinterest days.  Here it is:

...and HERE is the Unity Stamp Co. stamp set, "The Time is NOW", that it totally reminds me of!

Be sure to check out the UNITY BLOG today where our girl Jen E. (from the block) is kicking off HIP HOP and definitely check back later today too because Unity has some SMOKIN' new releases- SOOOO many it's a Virtual CHA party!  

Last but not least, please send some shout outs and leave some love for our fabulous Deconstructed Sketch team!  Links are on my sidebar this week for this talented bunch of ladies!

A Non-Traditional Valentine...

Hey, everyone!

Today I'm here w/ a fun post using NON-Traditional Valentine's colors for Ribbon Carousel.com's challenge today brought to you by our fabulous DT sister, Suzanne!

I love this challenge and think you will, too!

Today we are combining forces with Paper & Such and a $15 gift certificate is up for grabs to a luck winner this week!  Paper & Such JUST opened in May 2011 and they have some SUPER cute stamps so check them out!

I made this card for my DH for Valentine's day using some pretty Authentique paper and the words couldn't be more true.  We have been through everything together and just like I feel towards the kids- I don't think I could love him more and then I do.  The sentiment is from Verve Stamps and the rose trim I think *may* be out of stock right now at RCC but check out all the other fabulous things I found here! ;)

sorry for the bad pic- I am rushing through my day but wanted to get this posted! Shhhh!  don't tell DH ;)

Well, your day just won't be complete until you visit the Ribbon Carousel CHALLENGE for the rest of the deets on today's challenge- and also, PLEASE visit the amazing group of ladies that make up our Ribbon Carousel DT.   I can't even tell you how much I enjoy these girls and their lovely creations...they have heart and soul and they just plain rock!  Links on my sidebar... seriously- go see what I mean- I adore them <3

See you back here on Thursday, everyone!

xoxo,

My Little Girl...

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick post this quiet Sunday to let everyone know that there's still a bit of time left to play in The Greeting Farm's Customer Challenge & Chit Chat night challenges from this past Friday night!

What FUN we had!

I have to thank our lovely hostess Rachel Parys once again for putting a FABULOUS night together for us and for whipping up some pretty amazing samples too!

Our theme was "A Night at the Bookstore" and there are THREE challenges...I used the "Favorite children's book" theme.

I had NO idea that Tim McGraw had written a children's book a few years ago, titled after his song "My Little Girl".   I absolutely love this carefree story about a girl and her Daddy and how they spend the day together and how sometimes..OFTEN times, actually, doing nothing is doing EVERYTHING.

Seriously, check it out- it's the sweetest book and I read it to the girls quite often :)

For my card, I used Make a Splash Amelia's head/arms and Creeper Sasha's body and boots- the combo totally reminded me of little Katie here in the book :)

The challenges are all listed HERE and they're open until NOON tomorrow, so if a crafty afternoon or Evening is in your future...you know where to FIND us!

xoxo,

You Are...

...getting sentimental!

Wait, no, I am!

That's cuz this past Monday's "Monday Fun-day" challenge on the Farm Fresh Challenge Blog was to "get sentimental", so I did just that ;)

I LOVE this sentiment (and such a pretty font!) from the re-released "Lucky Bunnies" set by The Greeting Farm.  I love it and have been thinking it's way too awesome of a sentiment to be tucked away on the inside of a card, don't you agree?

I used some Crate Paper "Emma's Shoppe" DP I had leftover and added a few Prima spray roses and a little bling ;)   I added the "It's Your Day" sentiment which could be used for birthday, a special congrats or celebration, or in this case, maybe a dance competition or two ;)  We shall see!

Be sure to check out all the details of this week's Monday Fun-Day!   Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

xoxo,

2012: a year of Faith...hope....LOVE...

Hey, everyone!

Today I have a card for you for our Unity HIP HOP Thursday that also uses the Deconstructed Sketch and I think this is one of my all-time favorite sketches...check it out:

Isn't it SUPER cool?  Jen outdid herself on this one- I seriously LOVE it!

It's also the 1st HIP HOP of 2012 for me since last week wasn't my week and we have a theme this week:

NEW YEAR.  NEW BEGINNINGS...

I'm not much of a 'resolution' girl.  I think maybe it's only because the word resolution when mixed w/ New Year's just has too many connotations of great beginnings w/ not a lot of follow-through...not just for me but for a lot of people I know, too.

Another thing I see a lot of people doing is that "one little word" for the year.  Ummm, hello!  I can't even do Twitter because they cut me off at 140 characters, LOL!  So narrowing down my wishes, goals, hopes and dreams into ONE word?  For some that may be powerful but for me it just isn't easily done.

...anyway, there are lots of things that I have my sights set on for 2012.  There are new ventures...there are continued goals, and increasing faith in God.  There is hope that the one yet unresolved situation in my life will be resolved...hope that through the depths of what seems like much unhappiness/unrest for someone I used to know, hope that enlightenment will find them..and that they will decide to stop living in the past even though they don't even realize they still are...hope that they can peacefully move on... but most of all, there's just love.  

There is so much love, growing love, for my family and friends.  There is love I didn't know that could grow any bigger or root itself any deeper and yet, with each passing year, it does, and that's a miracle.  I'm really looking forward to a year of growing Faith, Hope, and LOVE, and hope you all are too :)

My card today uses the "Faith, Hope, Love" sentiment  (I'm sorry, I can't remember what kit it's from!) and also the butterfly from "The Time is NOW" stamp set.  I thought this was significant because it's 2012, a NEW Year.  Time for those new dreams to be chased, new ambitions to kindle a flame, and time to get started.  now.  The TIME IS NOW.

Thanks for coming to visit today!

Be sure to check out the UNITY BLOG for the HIP HOP order, announcements, etc.

See you soon!

xoxo,

This lil' creeper is Lucky in Love...

Hey, everyone!

We are getting LUCKY today on the Farm Fresh Challenge blog!

LUCKY IN LOVE, that is!

This month's "RETRO-FRESH" challenge is up and ready to go on the Farm Fresh Challenge blog and this little Creeper Abbey is blushing she's so pretty in pink...not like her normal 'punky' self ;)

CC Abbey was released at The Greeting Farm in May 2011...can you believe it was that long ago?  See?  It's not hard to find a "retro-fresh" TGF stamp....and you'll want to play along this month because a 4x6 OR Clear stamp set of YOUR CHOICE is up for grabs to a lucky winner! 

...and talk about laid back!  You have ALL MONTH to play along!

Check out the rest of the details on the FFC blog and be sure to visit my teammates:

• April Davis
• Joni Wilson
• Lisa Gobea
• Margie Cortina-Team Captain
• Sharette Smith

See you tomorrow, everyone!

xoxo,

Hi everyone!  It's Tuesday and time for another fun Ribbon Carousel.com challenge!

This week, Laurel is inspiring us with this gorgeous Pinterest photo:

And to make it even more fun, our sponsor this week is Whimsie Doodles!

Here’s a little about our sponsor:

Whimsie Doodles is so excited to be sponsoring the new challenge! In March of 2009 Melyssa Connolly, artist and owner, began turning her whimsical hand-drawn images into digital files for sale online. Whimsie Doodles' digital stamp line features images that range from cute little boys and girls, to punny stuff, and everything in-between. We enjoy sharing lots of samples on our company blog, where we also post challenges and tutorials.

We are huge fans of Melyssa here at the RCC! And can you guess why? Aside from the fabulous designs and amazing artwork from the Whimsie Doodles team, Melyssa is the designer of the carousel in our logo! The prize this week is One (1) winner will receive a $10 Gift Certificate to the Whimsie Doodles Online Store.

And just for participating, Whimsie Doodles is giving a special offer to you! Use the discount code (Ribbonrocks) at the Whimsie Doodles online store and receive 10% off your next order! Code is good until February 8, 2012.

SO, here's my card today using this fun Snowman Cocoa image:

I didn't have any dark brown cardstock so in keeping with the inspiration photo, I used kraft and aqua :)   I added some fun liquid appliqué for the hat and marshmallows ;)

Be sure to check out the RCC blog for all the details on how to play, and visit the Ribbon Carousel STORE, too!  I used the awesome May Arts Jute/Burlap Twine in NATURAL and you can get that for an AWESOME price at the RCC store!

See you tomorrow, everyone!
xoxo,

Taggin' it on Throwback Thursday...

Hey, everyone!

I'm back with another fun post for The Greeting Farm today.  Thanks so much for scrolling down to be here :)

Today we have a fun "Throwback Thursday" post on The Greeting Farm blog and we are all using older holiday sets to bring you fresh, fun ideas today.

I also wasn't able to make anything for this month's "Retro Fresh" challenge which debuted yesterday either and that was to create a tag-themed project, so I combined the two ideas and here's what I came up with using Cheeky Christmas set:

These tags would be super fun to make for all my gifts this year- I may have to make a few more as time allows ;)   Do you guys make a lot of your own gift tags?

• Peggy Toole- December Guest
• Becca Fabozzi
• Carisa Zglobicki
• Denice Bartucci
• Kim Yu
• Tracey Pickersgill
• 
  

Be sure to stop by the  TGF blog today for the rest of the deets on how you can WIN a set today, and for now, be sure to visit:

Thanks so much for stopping by!
xoxo,

When you just have to say....

TODAY STINKS.

ha!

Well, not really...however, the flu bug has hit the Diedrich house and so far it's Mom and Ava down for the count :(   Little peanut had a 102.4 temp under her arm yesterday (which, are we still adding a degree these days?  I think we are- but nevertheless- it was HIGH!) and Mom has chills.

This is going to be a CRAZY. busy. week.

SO bear with me- cuz I might be here and there until next week.  The kids seriously have like 5 parties this week between school, dance, etc., a basketball game, Girl Scout cookie kick-off party, and oh yeah- I gotta get better ;)  Yikes!

Today's RCC33 challenge on the Ribbon Carousel blog made me pull out some twine and I have to say the sentiment makes me SMILE.   Today our teammate Danielle Daws  (LOVE her CAS style, btw!) has issued us a SUPER fun Twine Challenge today and Divine Twine is sponsoring a prize of 2 full spools to a lucky winner!

Be sure to check out the RCC blog for all the details.  Here's my card...and the story behind it today:

 I made this card for a friend of mine that I met at the beginning of this year.  Her daughter is in Ava's kindergarten class and she's our Girl scout leader and also is the reason I signed up to be a 31 consultant :)  She is a consultant too and also happens to make the CUTEST headbands, neck warmers (which is totally nuking waiting for me as I type!), ornaments, all kinds of cute personalized stuff.   Her name is Elizabeth and I am so, so excited that I finally met someone here in the neighborhood to hang out with who actually crafts, too!   Seriously- her stuff is SO cute- check out her Facebook Page and you might even recognize one of her little models ;)

We had to reschedule plans TWICE last week due to work stuff, sick kid stuff, etc. and then it just so happened that Friday we were talking on the phone and she said "are you busy"?  Well, we both are busy. Crazy busy.   But stir crazy too- LOL  So I said "hmm, no?"  LOL  and then the "let's do lunch" idea bloomed. (oh, and a spur-of-the-moment trip to Hobby Lobby where you 'accidentally' pass a Starbucks on the way ;) 

Anyway- as soon as I grabbed my UNITY Kit from November I knew it was the perfect card and tried to honor Danielle's CAS (Clean and Simple) style.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and seriously- check out not only the Ribbon Carousel store but also my friend's "Bees Knees" page!  See you soon!

xoxo,

Look Mom....NO Embellishments???

Oh, Joni, my dear team mate..if I didn't love you so much....   LOL!

Happy Monday, folks!

Today is just another "Monday FUN-day" on the Farm Fresh Challenge Blog and our sweet Joni all but killed us with a NO EMBELLISHMENTS challenge.  Ok, Ok, I'm TOTALLY exaggerating...it actually wasn't that bad!

I took the chance to pull out my Helmar Liquid SCRAPDOTS and decide just how valuable a tool they are especially for an occasion such as this ;) ...but you can visit the HELMAR Design Team blog for more details on that too!   

I have to say if not for these handy dandy Liquid Scrapdots, it might have taken the wind right out of little Miss Flutter Anya's wings!   Be sure to visit Helmar to check out all of their awesome adhesive products and for now,  be sure to say hi to the Farm Fresh Challenge team, too:

• April Davis
• Joni Wilson
• Lisa Gobea
• Margie Cortina-Team Captain
• Sharette Smith
• 
  

Thanks for stopping by!

RCC 31: Gettin' colorful on the Farm...

Hi, everyone!

I'm back with another fun RIBBON CAROUSEL challenge today!

The fabulous Stephanie Muzzulin is challenging you to Color our World!  Neutrals can always be used, but be sure to keep with Stephanie’s palette of Kraft, Red and Brown as your inspiration.  I threw in a little neutral blue and some fun DP just for fun and attempted to keep it clean w/ the HUGE red glittery star but ended up w/ a little bit all over myself as well, LOL!

This week we are honored to have The Greeting Farm back as our sponsor!

The Greeting Farm will be giving one lucky random winner a choice of 4x6 rubber stamp set or one of their fabulous new clear acrylic stamp sets!

 

I used the ever-so- awesome "Ebony" and in continuing with my Breaking Dawn spirit, she sure does remind me of Alice and her little "Twinkling' personality :)

I used some satin ribbon and cinched it up using Helmar 450 Quick- Dry....GOOD stuff....

...and that's it for me...know why?  Cuz you are gonna FLIP when you see how my AWESOME DT friends out did themselves this week using TGF images!  I'm SO excited and proud to be a part of this team!

Talk to you all soon! Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

...a Blue/Berry RETRO-fresh Wednesday...

Happy Wednesday to all of you out there in blog land...and thanks for all your sweet comments on the Clear Stamp Showcase yesterday at The Greeting Farm!

Today I'm back w/ another TGF post as it's time for our monthly "RETRO-fresh" Challenge on the Farm Fresh Challenge blog.

This month, we are going Blue/Berry!

You may have noticed that anything aqua/berry is my favorite color combo lately :D  For a while now, actually.

So, I'm challenging everyone to bring these colors to life this month by using any shade of AQUA and BERRY (think berry pinks, berry sorbet, melon mambo, etc. ) this month along with a RETRO TGF Stamp!  (for a list of qualifying releases 6 months or older, click HERE.)

I'm using Flutter Anya and some Crate Paper DP for today's creation:

Thanks so much for stopping by today and be sure to check out the rest of the Farm Fresh Challenge Team today, too!

• April Davis
• Joni Wilson
• Lisa Gobea
• Margie Cortina-Team Captain
• Sharette Smith
•  Don't forget that the DECEMBER Guest Designer contest ends 11/10, so make sure to get your entries in to me before the big reveal of Phase 1 on our Facebook page on Friday, 11/11!
  
  
  What's more?  Please join us at 7pm CST on Friday, November 11th in our SCS Forum for our First-EVER TGF "Customer Challenge and Chit-Chat" night!  Our first night will be a MOVIE THEME event so pop some popcorn, grab your favorite candy, and join us for LIVE chatter, trivia, and a challenge with our first Customer Hostess to be revealed shortly!  :)
  
  
  If you're not able to join us for the live chat no worries- we will be doing these at different times of day to include our overseas friends when we can. Challenge will be open ALL weekend, too, so there will be time for EVERYONE to play!  We'll wrap up about 10pm CST or whenever we conk out- but for now, get ready to join us for a night at the movies!
  
  
  
  

See you tomorrow, everyone!

xoxo

Am I BUGGIN' ya on a WEEKEND?

Yes!  I am!

We have a little surprise up our sleeves today on the FARM FRESH CHALLENGE blog at The Greeting Farm!

A few months ago, I was approached by Tammy Miller of BUGABOO stamps and she was so sweet and let us know how her and Jodi, the owner, just loved TGF and our designs.  She then asked if we'd be interested in doing a Blog Swap of sorts with them, and I couldn't have said yes quickly enough!

October 15th seemed like FOREVER to get here...but today is the day!

We are playing along in the BUGABOO stamp challenge today and they'll be playing with us next Friday, how FUN is that?!

TODAY on the "Catch the Bug" Blog there is an ANIMAL challenge (it must be animal week, as our RETRO challenge was the same theme this month, heehee!)

The prize is SEVEN free digis- woo hoo!

I tell you what, we had a GOOD time playing with these images and I think YOU will too- be sure to check out the CATCH THE BUG blog for all the rules on what stamps to use, etc.

I had the BEST TIME COLORING this image.  Isn't it CUTE?  I'm really happy with the way it turned out and couldn't wait to share it with you!  The paper is Crate Paper, Emma's Shoppe and Neighborhood packs.  AND, I know JUST the lucky girl who's going to receive this card.  She is brave and wonderful and well....be on the lookout, my friend ;)

Thanks for stopping by today!  Be sure to play along with Bugaboo this week and HAVE FUN!

Be sure to stop back Friday the 21st for part TWO of this fun Blog Swap opportunity!

Good luck!
************************
I'm also here today on behalf of the AMAZING Cause going on Splitcoaststampers right now, the 2nd Annual "Hope you can Cling To" event.  Today, Sunday, is my day to host a challenge and it just so happens to be a PINK RIBBON challenge!
I hope you'll check out this great cause, as there are some amazing prizes and wonderful challenges EVERY day this month!

Last but not least, be sure to grab a copy of the TGF October Newsletter, and if you're not subscribed, email Jess!  There is LOTS of info in this month's issue including a special Guest Designer contest and a chance to play with the Farmers!

xoxo,

Retro-Fresh Cool Cat...

Hi, everyone!

Jess here and I'm excited to bring you our first monthly "RETRO-fresh" challenge on the Farm Fresh Challenge blog!

What exactly IS "RETRO-fresh"?

Well, we know that we are blessed to have LOTS of customers with us from the very beginning, back in 2008...not ONLY does that make us the luckiest little stamp co. this side of the world, but it also means there are LOTS of designs that need plenty of lovin' that maybe haven't seen daylight in a while ;) 

So....

On the 2nd Wednesday of the month, the FFC is proud to bring you

RETRO-FRESH!

Rules:

Well, there aren't a ton.

Each month we will have a THEME and this month's theme will be:
ANIMALS.

No animal stamps?  NOOOOO problem!  Use paper, embellishments, whatever you have!

Just use ANY TGF STAMP that is at LEAST 6 months old.

Here is my card using the adorable retired "Gingerbell" set:

The best part of this new challenge?

You have ALL MONTH to play along!  We'll choose a winner and post it with our next Retro-Fresh challenge on Wednesday, November 9th, so you have until Nov. 8th at NOON CST to get those entries in! 

Be sure to check out the other Farm Fresh Challenge DT members to see their Retro-Fresh creations:

• April Davis
• Joni Wilson
• Lisa Gobea
• Margie Cortina
• Sharette Smith

What's Black and White and FUN all over?...

Today's Monday FUN-day challenge, of course!

Head over to the Farm Fresh Challenge blog for a BRAND new challenge by one of our new DT members, Sharette Smith!

Today's challenge is to use BLACK and WHITE w/ ONE other COLOR :)   In the spirit of Halloween and the fact that I couldn't WAIT to use Cheeky Kitty again, I went with some (ok, a lot of) ORANGE!

Here's my Cheeky creation for today's challenge, using last week's MOJO MONDAY sketch:

Don't forget to stop by the Farm Fresh Challenge blog and also on the TGF Blog to learn more about our sweet and talented Guest Designer, Lori Craig!

....and you'll definitely want to stop by our new and lovely Farm Fresh Challenge DT to see who played along this week, too!

• April Davis
• Joni Wilson
• Lisa Gobea
• Margie Cortina
• Sharette Smith

Thanks and have a FANTASTIC Monday!
xoxo,

Tiny Dancer...

Hey, everyone!

Thank you so much for scrolling down because I am SO excited about this week's Deconstructed Sketch!

Not only are we being sponsored by the adorable Tiddly Inks this month, we are also welcoming one of my best friends in the WORLD to the Deconstructed Sketch Girls....yep, that's right!  Welcome to PAM VARNELL!   I know you guys know that Pammy hardly needs an intro from me because I blog about her a lot and our adventures...but today I also want to mention that she is also an EXTREMELY talented designer and we are all lucky to have her!   Love you girl- SO excited to be on a team with you again!

As I mentioned, this week we are sponsored by Christy Croll and her awesome digi company, "Tiddly Inks".   Since my daughter recently started competitive dance, I wanted to make a card for her and made duplicate card for the dance academy owner for being so awesome to us since we were asked to audition a bit later than the rest of the team (we had only enrolled about a month ago and all of this exciting stuff has happened for Madelynn since!).  Here is my card, featuring this cute little Tiny Dancer:

The awesome build-your-own sentiment is from Market Street Stamps and is probably my new favorite small sentiment set, "Simple Joys".  You guys seriously need to check them OUT of you haven't yet!  They stamp SO well and the line is super cute!

Here is the Deconstructed Sketch 22 for you today:

I have to admit, and I was teasing Jen about this last night cuz she's a good friend of mine too, that I was a BIT skeered when I saw this sketch, but I LOVE it and the card came to me in no time, too.  Don't be shy- seriously, you will LOVE this one!

Last but not least, don't forget to visit:

• Amber Hight
• Angela Sowell
• Anna Maria Nilsson
• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle
• Emma Eads
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Pam Varnell
• Sheri Gilson

Once again, a big welcome to Pam!  See you guys for another sketch next week!

xoxo,

Ribbon Carousel Info and NEW kit!...

Hey, everyone!

I'm here with some info for Ribbon Carousel.com and the BRAND NEW October Kit of GORGEOUS fall ribbon available NOW:

This beautiful kit is on sale now and includes samplings from the following FULL spools:

Are these colors not delicious for Fall???  LOVE them!

Today on the Ribbon Carousel Blog we are featuring another popular "ANYTHING GOES" Challenge and the prize is an OCTOBER RIBBON KIT to one lucky winner!

All the details, as well as a NEW Guest for October, Kim O'Connell, are on the Ribbon Carousel Blog!

Here's a sneak peek of my card today on the RCC Blog:

It's also featured on the above post combined w/ my Stamper's Dream post today- thanks so much for stopping by and talk to you all soon!
xoxo