Paper Crafts Gallery Idol - ROUND 2!

Hey everyone!  The second round of Paper Crafts Gallery Idol is now live - you can cast your vote (hopefully for me!) right here.  Our theme for this round was masculine cards incorporating items found in the garage (either actual items or images of such items).  I went the literal route with this one and included nuts (of the nuts and bolts variety) on my card.  To hold the nuts to my card I stitched them to punched cork circles using green baker's twine.  I thought the cork added even more texture and dimension and was also another material you might find in the garage. 

I carried the texture and dimension into my sentiment by using these really fun cork letters by Making Memories.  I wanted to use a really bold color scheme to further the masculine feel of my card as well.

So now I need your support again!  Please visit the contest page here and cast your vote for my "simply nuts about you" card.  If you voted in the last round you do not need to register again but simply sign in to the contest tool.  If you did not vote in the first round ... shame on you!  LOL!  Just kidding!  You will need to register with the contest tool by visiting this link and following these easy steps:

    1. You’ll need to register with the contest tool to vote, so first go to the “Registration” tab.
    2. Once you’ve registered, then click on the “View Entries” tab.
    3. Once you select your favorite card, click on the “Vote” tab. (Make sure you’re really sure because you’re only allowed one vote per voting round!)

As some of you may know, my hard drive crashed this past weekend and I lost everything including all of my email contacts.  I am limited in my ability to let people know about this second round of voting so I need your help in spreading the word.   Voting for Round 2 will end at noon (MDT) on Thursday, June 17. The results will be tallied shortly after and the Top 10 will be announced on Friday!   Thanks so much for your support!  :)

Happy Birthday Laura!

SURPRISE! Carla and I decided there was no better way to celebrate your 40th birthday than to gather 40 of your friends and colleagues for a birthday blog hop!  So sit back and relax my dear friend (hopefully you're sipping some Starbucks right about now) and get ready to be showered with birthday cards and greeting from around the web.  :)

There is so much I can say about our friendship Laura - you truly are one of my BFFs - so I decided to share just some of the things I love about "us" ... 

• I love that scrapbooking brought us together but it is only one of many things that keep us that way.  
• I love that we "talk" daily - either by phone or by email - and that it feels weird to both of us when we don't get our daily dose.  
• I love that your kids know all about me and my kids and my kids know all about you and yours even though we live on opposite coasts.  
• I love that when I said I wanted to go to CHA this past January you were willing to take the time off from work to go with me.  
• I love that you took me to my first In N Out burger and literally paused to watch me take my first bite with a huge smile on your face.  
• I love that you are a procrastinator and I am a "get 'er done" gal but we totally get that about each other.  
• I love that you know I have a weakness for powdered mini donuts and I know how you order your Starbucks (5 pumps coffee, 4 pumps mocha).
• I love that I can talk to you about trivial things just as easily as I can talk to you about the serious stuff and I know you're listening just the same.
• I love that you continually encourage and inspire me to be the very best that I can be - not only in the scrapbooking industry but as a wife and mother.

I could go on and on but you've got lots of other blogs to go through so let me end by saying Happy Birthday my friend - may all your birthday wishes come true!  If you'd like to visit Laura's blog and share some birthday wishes with her you can do so here. 

As you know Sarah Klemish doesn't have a blog but wanted to join in on the hop as well so you'll find a card and message from Sarah posted below ...

Laura -  To my beautiful, talented and creative friend!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday and that you enjoy 40 as much as I did! :)  Thanks for always being so inspiring, not only as a scrapbooker but as a mom!

Your next stop is with Carla so hop on over and see what she's got in store for you!  :)

And just in case there are any broken links along the way here is the entire list of participants in the celebration ...


Lynn Ghahary
Sarah Klemish *posting on Lynn's blog*
Carla Tarabus
Sara Rossi
Sierra Renter
Deneen Cook
Heather Ruwe
Cindy Leibel
Wendy Bretz
Erin Terrell Clarkson
Jen Gallacher
Mary MacAskill
Wendy Sue Anderson
Kimber McGray
Suzy Plantamura
Jennifer McGuire
Suzanne Sergi
Summer Fullerton
Becky Olsen
Doris Sander
Laura Toriello
Jennifer Johner
Wilna Furstenburg
Nichol Magourik
Maggie Homes
Deena Wuest
Jill Yegerlehner
Karen Nuce *posting on Jill's blog*
Jennifer Harkin *posting on Jill's blog*
Sarah Hodgkinson
Paula Gilarde
Melanie Blackburn
Kim Moreno
Kim Arnold
Juliana Michaels
Ingrid Danvers
Aly Dosdall
Becky Williams
Jenny Weston

Paper Crafts Gallery Idol - I need your vote!

Happy Monday! Today is a big day as voting for the next round of Paper Crafts Gallery Idol is now officially open.  We were given the theme of "Creativity Heals" and asked to come up with a card based on this theme.  I decided to create a get well card using some gorgeous papers from the Kioshi collection by Basic Grey.  One of the things I love most about this collection of papers is the nontraditional color scheme of soft pinks, blues, purples and yellows mixed in with such a strong neutral as black.  The papers are all so pretty without being your typical prints and florals.  And that is exactly what I wanted for my get well card - something that was soft and beautiful but with that extra punch of color that made you say "wow!"

 
I created the layered flower embellishment using my trusty scallop circle punches and some die cuts and stickers from the Kioshi collection.  And can I just say that I love the purple in this collection.  Purple is definitely not my typical "go to" color - I mean let's face it I have two boys and there is not a speck of purple to be seen in my house (hee hee!) - but paired with some yellow and blue with a punch of black?  It really makes a statement.

And here's a closer look at the cute little butterfly on my card.  It's actually a sticker that I popped up with some dimensional adhesive and used two tiny black buttons threaded with some yellow floss to create its body and antennae.

Okay so here is where I beg and plead for your help.  ;)  In order for me to move on to the next round of this amazing contest I need your votes.  In order to cast your vote for me you will need to visit the contest page HERE.  Once you are there you will need to follow these easy steps to register and vote:

1. You’ll need to register with the contest tool to vote, so first go to the “Registration” tab.
2. Once you’ve registered, then click on the “View Entries” tab.
3. Once you select your favorite card, click on the “Vote” tab. (Make sure you’re really sure because you’re only allowed one vote per voting round!)

Hopefully you'll decide to cast your vote for ME so that I can move on to the next round of competition.  Voting begins today at 12 noon MDT and ends on Thursday, June 10th at 12 noon MDT.  I really appreciate your support and would love it if you would let your friends and family know about this fun contest as well.  Thank you!  :)