Happy Mother's Day, blog friends. This is definitely not the easiest day for me, but I feel supported...and I have so many, many of you to thank for that. There really aren't words to express my appreciation for the grace & love you give me as I deal with times like this, & figure out what it is to be a mother to children that aren't with me.

It would be remiss if I didn't mention my own mom on this day. I often think about the fact that she has watched her "baby" go through the worst thing that can happen to a mom...twice. And I know that it was just as hard for her to watch me go through it. I don't know if I would have survived all of this without her - even though most of the time I needed her to just be my quiet prayer warrior while still helping keep the memory of Ellie & Layton alive. I can imagine that it isn't super easy to try & support someone who is introverted and private, and prefers to mostly internalize their grief. But she does it beautifully, and I love her for it (plus so much more, of course.) So, Happy Mother's Day to my mama.

Today I want to share a card with you using some of the new products from the Simon Says Stamp Fluttering By Release! There is a great Mother's Day sale going on, so you could definitely take advantage of that & get yourself a little treat today!


Today my card is focused on the beautiful New Beginnings tree stencil. I chose some colors that reminded me of my mom, and created a mother's day card for it! I think this tree stencil is really so versatile though, and I think it would make an amazing Father's Day card as well...I will likely create a similar card for dads soon!

To start, I cut an A2 card from purple cardstock and set aside. Next I cut a white cardstock block slightly smaller, then stamped & heat embossed the word MOM in gold glitter to the lower right corner.

Then I taped the tree stencil over top of the card so that the tree was on the left side of the block, and not overlapping the heat embossed sentiment at all. Then I proceeded to ink blend with distress oxide inks in mermaid lagoon, seedless preserves & blueprint sketch. With the stencil still on, I sprinkled it with water & picked it up with a paper towel. Finally, I splattered it with gold paint.

Once it was dry, I carefully peeled off the stencil, then mounted the whole block to the card front with foam adhesive. I use white fun foam & wide Scor-Tape as a cost effective way to cover the entire backing with foam. That way I don't get odd dents or warping.

Next I stamped & heat embossed the rest of the sentiment in white to black cardstock, and cut it in a thin strip. I cut banner edges to each end, then adhered over top of the "O" with foam adhesive.

Finally, I accented with my signature jewels tucked here & there. This is actually a very simple card, and could easily be replicated time & again!

I hope that you like my card, and that you have a wonderful Mother's Day. This includes everyone - those that are mothers to all children, alive or not, those that long to be mothers, those battling infertility...this list could go on.

Before you get on your way, I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media! I hang out on Instagram a lot, and share my work in progress in my stories...along with REALLY cute photos of my dogs! :) Plus, I just started a YouTube channel, and while there are only a few videos right now...I will be adding new content consistently!

Happy Thursday, blog friends! I hope you've had a wonderful week so far! Today I want to share a card with you using some of the new products from the Simon Says Stamp Fluttering By Release! Today my card is focused on a lot of the adorable butterfly items that were included in the release!

I used the Butterfly Shimmer die, the Stitching Butterflies dies, and the sentiment came from the Mom Flowers stamp set. I live over 1,000 miles away from all my family, and these products just felt perfect for a card letting them know how much I miss them! Here is what I created!

Hey there, blog friends!  I have a busy Winnie & Walter schedule this week, as we are partnering with Simon Says Stamp for our Share the Love week!!

To celebrate this truly special and spectacular company we are going to have challenges, inspiration and giveaways all 5 days!  We want to have you play along too.

Today our challenge is: RAINBOW COLOR/COLOUR PALATTE!  Here is what I created!

I used the following stamp sets:

• Winnie & Walter - The Big, The Bold & You
• Simon Says Stamp - More Sketchy Banner Greetings

Want to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp?  We adore this company and are giving it away to one lucky randomly picked winner.

You have two (2) ways you can enter to win:

1. You can comment once on the Winnie & Walter Day 1 post; and/or
2. You can create a new rainbow color/colour palette project using Simon Says Stamp product(s) + at least one (1) w&w product (this can include stamps, cut files, digital products and/or one of our freebies found on our website or for our Facebook fans) and add it to the Link-up tool found on the Winnie & Walter Day 1 post. You may enter as many times as you wish while the challenge remains open.

  They will randomly pick a winner from the comments and challenge entries that are entered by Sunday, September 7, 2014 at 11:55 p.m. CST.

That's all I have for you today!!  Hope you have a great start to your week!

Until later,
~L.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Hope the first part of your week has been a good one so far.  It is rainy & dismal here today...a perfect day to sit in my little craft room with a cup of tea & create the time away.  I totally forgot to mention that we went and saw the new Star Trek movie on Saturday evening with our closest friends Grant & Meagan...and it was AWESOME!  (Although the little one in her tummy wasn't too impressed with the noise.  She kept kicking her mama over our movie choice!)  It's been a quiet couple of days on the homefront, so not to much else to update you on.

I have a card up on the Glitz blog today, and this week we are all about the sequins!  Not a stretch for me...I've been using them for a few months now, and adore them!  I won an Avery Elle gift card last month, and I spent it all on some of their amazing sequins!  These sequins are smaller than my coveted Studio Calico sequins, and they mix & match really well.  Although for my card, I just used the smaller AE ones.  I have paired Glitz Design's "Hello Friend" & "Love You Madly" collections on this card, and this is how it turned out!
Instructions:
1. Make A2 card from white cardstock.
2. Cut background paper slightly smaller, then adhere.
3. Cut the layered sticker in half, pull it apart & adhere the dotted bottom half to the card as shown.
4. Layer a blue cardstock sticker, film diecut & Glitzer frame to the front.
5. Add a glittered tab & cardstock title sticker to the frame, then add the top half of the layered sticker to each side.
6. Wrap twine around the middle, then top with a double bow & giant rhinestone.
7. Cut a banner from patterned paper, stamp the middle sentiment to it & arrange the banners on the bottom of the card.
8. Add the restroom person Glitzer to the title sticker, then accent the card with sequins to finish.

Challenges:
-Cardibilities #75 - sketch
-City Crafter #160 - color inspiration
-Word Art Wednesday #81 - anything goes

I'm pretty much in LOVE with the colors on this card today...makes me want to redecorate my house to match it.  Ha!  Probably not going to happen, but a girl can dream.  :)

Well, that is all I have for you today.  I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your Wednesday!

Until later,
~L.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  WPlus9 (white)  |  Paper: Glitz Design (Hello Friend 6x6)  |  Stamps: Simon Says Stamp  (For The Record)  |  Ink: Tsukineko (rosebud)  |  Other:  Glitz Design (cardstock stickers, Glitzer stickers, layered stickers, diecut film, rhinestone)  |  Martha Stewart Crafts (glittered tab)   |  May Arts (ivory twine)  |  Avery Elle (sequins)