Happy Saturday!  I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad the weekend is here!!!  I’ll be back later with a card to show, but for now I wanted to let you know about some YUMMY blog candy upf or grabs!

Debbie is celebrating her blogoversary with this fabulous giveway (through April 30):

Kim is giving this set of goodies away for her blogoversary (through May 2):

Debbie is celebrating her birthday and her blogoversary (through April 27) with some fabulous candy that includes 2 Elisabeth Bell stamps!!!

and lastly, The Friday Sketchers challenge is looking for a guest Design Team Member (the call is open until May 1) – checkout their blog for more details.

Have a great day!

      Hooray! After a beautiful day outdoors playing with Nadya and watching her discover the joy and excitement of a new sand tire, play in the grass behind the barn, throw rocks into the canal to watch the ripples…ah I’ll just show you.

I have a very busy, but usually content little one!

So, in between all of those activities, I managed to squeeze in a little creative time…

My very first Hanna card! I’m actually quite happy with the way she turned out – as you know Designer Papers aren’t easy for me to work with!  The colors and patterns were inspired by this week’s Stamp Something – something Yellow, Green, and Blue and Cute Card Thursday – Floral Fantasy challenges .  I stamped Rain Day Hanna on Whisper White CS with Basic Black Ink (SU).  Since my Copics are on the way, but not here yet, I colored her with my SU markers and then trimmed her using my SU scissors.  The puddle is stamped with Brilliant Blue on a piece of scrap Whisper White CS, and then colored and trimmed.  The floral and stripe backgrounds are both from Die Cuts with a View Nana’s Nursery Mat Stack – trimmed with my long-rectangle Nestabilities.  Before adhering everything, I ran the base CS (DCWV) through my Big Shot with one of my SU Texture plates (the small dots since you can’t really see them).  The Designer papers are mounted with mono adhesive; Hanna and her puddle are mono adhesive and pop-dots (SU).

For the inside of the card, I layered the 2 remaining rectangles from my DCV mat stack and cut the Whisper White (SU) scallop panel using my Fiskars rotary trimmer and a scallop blade.

So, what do you think?!?! Like I said, I’m happy with the results and I’m gradually stepping out of my comfort zone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

I don’t know about you, but I really glad the weekend has arrived! Our weather looks like it will be nice, so Nadya can enjoy some outdoor time.  Most of the week was terribly windy, so with the exception of a play-date Tuesday morning, she hasn’t been able to play outside.  Did I tell you we set-up a playground for her?  Since we live in a very rural setting, she doesn’t have the luxury of a park nearby.  So, last October I found a playground on Craigslist.  Yasha worked on it in March, and following a couple of trips to Lowe’s and the local Upholstery shop – her outdoor “gym” is complete.

I used Bannerwoman’s Photo Edges style for the frames.  Nadya’s playground comes complete with a slide, stairs, a covered “fort” large and study enough for Mom and Dad too, 2 standard swings, 1 Car swing, a tire swing, and when’s she’s older – Monkey Bars, a Trapeze Bar, and Rings. Her Daddy also completed her tire sandbox yesterday so the pail, spade, and trowel Nadya received from Baba will be well used!

Bannerwoman continues to keep us busy!  She’s released several new styles – I’ve yet to come across one that isn’t fabulous!  With that being said, I’ve used a couple of her new goodies to create treats for you!  Two sets of 1/2 inch wide by 12 inch long plaid ribbons!

and

Please don’t share my files! If you like what you see, send your friends to my blog to get the files themselves.

I’m hoping to get some stamping/card creating done this weekend.  With Mother’s Day, Nadya’s Birthday, and the myriad of challenges…well my stamps are just dying to be inked!

Have a great weekend!