Merry Christmas Snowman ~SOUS Die Cut Challenge Snowman~

Merry Christmas Snowman

Good morning friends! Hope you all have been doing really well! Things are still crazy, crazy at my house..so much so that this is another late post! Ah!

Today at Stuck on U Sketches we've got a good wintery challenge of using a snowman! And really, there are so many die cut options out there that I'm sure you all will find some great snowmen to use! 

I've done some different colors here and used all Bazzill card stock (minus some of the pinks on the snowman were from my scrap bin). That sweet snowman is from Winter Frolic. I gave him a smile and pink painted cheeks! 

Here you can really see the embossing accented with some white inking around the edges. I used my new Sizzix holiday dies from this past Xmas.

My little sentiment flag I made, heat embossed the sentiment (love those little hearts in there! so cute!)

Short and sweet today! There's still so much going on at my house that I still feel like I can't even stop on the computer for long. My kitchen is back together but there's still an entire house that needs cleaning up, not to mention my laundry room needs to be reorganized after holding so much kitchen stuff...laundry luckily is done. Tomorrow...tiling! 

With all that said, please forgive how much I've been missing lately! I know I'm late on commenting for DT stuff and late on posts...late late late. But I know that doesn't happen very much for me, so I hope I'm forgiven!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Talk soon! ~Leah

Sending You Butterfly Hugs ~The Cutting Cafe~

Sending You Butterfly Hugs

Hi friends! Good afternoon! Things that are not home related and certainly flying by me right now so I haven't posted much craftiness lately.

I do however have a little card to share with you today using from The Cutting Cafe. The black border and text inside the box are from Animal and Bug Love, very, very cute set! And lots that comes on the file with lots of possibilities for projects, Valentines for sure, but also great for Love themed, friendship or kids cards!

Here shows the text that comes with the border box. Cute! And also my sheer ribbon and border punch. There's also a hint of the embossing on the background and inked paper.

I used my photo editing software to perfectly fit the text into my sentiment box. Perfect fit and so cute! Cut in vellum (I'm on a roll with this stuff) and backed with a pale pink paper. Papers are by Basic Grey.
And then of course, my Fiskar punched butterflies and a splatter of white paint!

So today I am finally putting my kitchen back together. There is still work to be done on the walls (and yes, yes we are going backwards (ceilings, walls first) but we ended up doing much more then we thought we would) and only for around $3,000 over budget! LOL! But I did get a new dishwasher out of this too! So cool what they are doing these days....okay, I could go on and on but I'll let you guys go...

Happy Hump Day, xoxo, Leah

Last Sneak Peek of My Kitchen...

Ok, I thought I would post one last sneak peek of the kitchen! My husband and BIL spent the day adding LED lights into both the kitchen and dining space and it looks incredible, beyond what I had hoped. And cool as well as both spaces on are dimmers, thought that was cool.

My peninsula is being put in as we speak and hopefully the granite today as well. But the job should be completed tomorrow. I still need to choose a backsplash, hardware and paint, and retexture the walls and ceilings and we're good to go! (Yay, we know that part is supposed to go first but we ended up doing much more then we originally thought!)

So next time...I'll share photos of the completed space! Hopefully not too far from now =)

Hope you guys enjoy what's left of your weekend...and GO San Francisco 49ERS!

xoxo, Leah

Kitchen Moving Along...

This was the last couple days at my house....then my husband I stayed up all night and decided to scrape the popcorn off the ceilings! We're so excited we haven't slept in a week! Seriously!

Here's the demoed room...

There was more flooring then this, a few more styles (how many times have they done this kitchen in 40 something years?). But see that rainbow wallpaper along the bottom of the wall...can you imagine that!

We've been chillin' in bed for 3 days now! =)

 This was just finished....California pine floors....

And what JUST arrived...along with the rain....HURRY UP guys and get this in!

I am about to pass out if I can't see these cabinets! Just about time....=o)

Get Out ~SOUS Sketch~

Get Out

Sorry I am a wee late posting! I totally thought this was scheduled so I didn't even check! Oops! Ok so today we've got another great sketch from my girlfriend Nanne and I adore this sketch and had actually wanted to do something with this kind of design, so when I saw her sketch I was pretty excited! Please head over to SOUS to see that! 

I had some very special photos from a family walk and decided I wanted to use them all and turned the sketch into a double layout!

I was thrilled to finally get the Campin' Critters Cricut cartridge. Adore this one and know I'll use it over and over again!

This cartridge has a lot in it, images, titles, shapes and then something called a badge which contains extra images as well, this smaller bunny being on of them.

Did a bit of stamping on the large tree and love the look of this having popped some of these layers.

My title shape was cut from Going Places and stamped with a woodgrain stamp. I used cork letters and BG sticker letters, also added some criss crossed jute behind the OUT.

There's that funky bunny and grass cut from Create a Critter. Oh, and the papers are a from K&Company.

And lastly my jute border I added around the photos and kept simply in place with a couple staples from my Tiny Attacher.

Alrighty...thanks for coming by...we are right in the middle of my kitchen makeover so I'll share some demo photos...I can't wait to see cabinets installed...today! EEEEE! =)

My Kitchen Is Being Remodeled!

Oh ladies...I have some amazing news! I get to redo my kitchen! Yay-Woo-Hoo!

My hubby has teased me twice since we've lived here saying that maybe we could...I had even bought a faucet. LOL! And then it never made financial sense for us to do it. So there it sat!

Now I'll admit, we won't win any awards for the worse kitchen in America, but it's pretty sad. Photographed it actually doesn't look so bad, but the refaced cabinets are coming off in places. The cabinets are starting to get really worn, the finish coming off. The tile is cracked in places and it's that sad sad beige...good grief, I can't tell you how much NOT a beige person I am! LOL!

Our appliances are pretty new so those are good to go!

So what to expect....all new cabinets, floors (from entryway to dining, into the kitchen) instead of broken up into 3 parts, granite counters, new sink, faucet. And eventually some other details like lighting and replacing the door that leads into the garage, laundry and my crafty space. But for now, the BIG things will be done!

Here are some before photos...

These are all iPhone photos...not too bad! I tried to get my Cody to smile but he won't give up the thumb or the hair....no surprise there!

So like this isn't enough going on...the kids are sick so they've been home while I had the chore of emptying my kitchen by myself. Now? Well now the 4 of us are shut up in my bedroom. I've set up a kitchen in my bathroom, we're chilling in bed watching TV, playing Go Fish, reading and being together. It's kinda nice (she says on day 1) but this is "supposed" to be finished by Saturday...we'll see!

I'll be back to share some demo and rebuild pix! I know when this is over that I am so going to cry...I just know it! That silly girl on the home show with tears..."Oh, I can't believe it!", however, I actually picked everything. LOL! But still, I can't believe we're actually doing this and I feel blessed beyond words! God's been SO good to me that I am speechless (and now there's a serious shock itself, me, speechless?)....let's think on that... =0)

Be back soon....

I Do ~The Cutting Cafe~

WARNING...HUSBAND DO NOT READ

I Do

Ok so Valentines Day is around the corner right, yep, and that sweet little holiday is super easy with all the files offered at The Cutting Cafe. You can find lots and lots of ideas here. I decided after seeing some of Regina's files to make something for a surprise wedding album (hence the warning to my husband but really, if he's going to be snoopy then he'll just ruin it for himself in the end.) 

The Cafe file used are these awesome Heart Pockets. Sweet ideas as well for these but my idea was to add this to a layout. 

Using a photo editing software I added the sentiment from another file (and after the last 20 something minutes trying to figure out where that came from, I gave up, argh!) I cut with a small Xacto knife the heart and then embossed acetate and added that inside the envelope. The plan is to put mine and my husband's vow's in that pocket.

This beautiful I Do is a cut from Sweethearts. I stamped a flourish stamp and then heat embossed with a silver powder. 

And the same technique to this ring cut (same cart) and then added Stickles for the diamond.

And lastly, a lil' close up of the Newlyweds! And a bit of fun facts...I was already married! About 6 months before our wedding we went to Las Vegas and got married at The Little White Wedding Chapel. So I had a crazy run-away wedding and then something still traditional! =)

Thanks for visiting and hopefully see you guys soon! ~Leah

Berry Sweet Birthday ~ABC Challenges H for Happy Birthday~

Berry Sweet Birthday

Happy Sunday all! Looks like we are about to or have hit 30 days without any rain here! I live in a little valley so we have some low hills all around and normally we are just gorgeous and green...no green (maybe that's why I added some to my card? LOL). So we've continued with well into the 60's days and cold mornings...but hopefully we'll see some drops this week! But today, another beauty...

Oh and speaking of beauty, LOL, I have a happy lil' card to share today for the ABC Challenges post. And we are at H for Happy Birthday! So I created this card with lots and lots of stamping and plan on giving this to my sister come her birthday next month. 

I've created this little card using Papertrey Ink's Button Boutique. The green border (which I cut out the inside and added vellum so you didn't totally loose sight of the stamped background. Then stamped the Fancy Button in a lighter green and added that. The banner is from Banner Builder and the sentiment from Tiny Treats Birthday.

Here is where the most work went into. The stamped background using PTI Distressed Stripes, that took the most amount of time I think. And then the strawberry stamping, the berry is from Tiny Treats Birthday and both flowers small stamps from my stamping stash. I've also inked all edges with some Vintage Photo distress ink.

One more photo to show some of the layered accents and dimension to the card.

So what do you think? I hope you like it and I hope my sister will as well...

Can't wait to see the other birthday themed projects that everyone shares...sure to be a lot and a lot of hopping for me, so I'll be by soon! LOL!

Have a great week friends....

~Leah

Winter Fun ~SOUS Die Cut Challenge Winter Fun~

Winter Fun

Hiya friends! Today is a fabulous day with a new Die Cut Challenge at Stuck on U Sketches and along with that we've got a great new sponsor as well for the month of January....Whimsical Designs! Each time you join any of our challenges this month, your name goes in the pot for the ENTIRE sentiment line of stamps! Awesome and a HUGE candy! Thanks Whimsical Designs! 

Wait! What the heck is the Die Cut Challenge?????

How about some....Winter Fun!!!!! Show us some great titles, activities...all those cold day things to do!!!!

And my project...I know color wise this is more "Fall" then Winter but with the leaves that fall from our front yard tree each year...I thought this was really neat!

I'll start with the background paper which is a DCWV stack called Tattered Time. Really cool and something more or less like a Tim Holtz design. It didn't photograph but the design is gloss, so it adds a lot of texture to the background.

My title comes from Winter Woodland which is super full of great Wintery and holiday titles. Love that, and each have some type of image or detail added into it, like this flourish. I've stamped and inked the separate letters, masked and sprayed some parts with Perfect Pearl mist and inked other parts. I still wish this cuts and more separate pieces but still cool.

Winter Woodland also had these huge decorative pieces. This flourish was stretched to fit across my entire cutting mat and cut in full pieces, but then trimmed to fit my page. The flourish and then the shadow's I thought fit a little strange together but its still something...

The leaves were cut from Mothers Day Bouquet cart and cut in a variation of green printed papers from my stash, and inked with brown and green Distress Inks. I also fit in a few MS punch leaves as well. I covered and sprayed different spots of these with gold and white Perfect Pearls for a finishing touch...well, that and added orange brown gems as berries.

And lastly, my easy journaling added with a Tiny Attacher. And a lil' close up of my lil' man....

Thank you SO much for visiting and let me give a public W O W to my fellow DT sisters for the INCREDIBLE projects posted this week! You are the best!

And another thanks to Stephanie for the candy...can't wait to see who the lucky winner is! Hugs!!!!

Have I Told You Lately...~The Cutting Cafe~

Have I Told You Lately....

Hi friends! I have a fun lil' romantic post today for The Cutting Cafe today using Long Sentiment Tags. You'll have to check that out because there are a lot of uses for this and I think it's pretty cute! I turned mine into something a bit saucy for a Valentines Day card for my hubby (and it's your own fault Justin, if you read this, stay off my blog boyfriend! =) 

I started with a black card base and embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I cut a red frame and stamped that with a flourish stamp in a shimmery Versamark. The clear glitter corner piece and tag under the sentiment are by Making Memories. 

Here is a close up of the tag...each "checked" off with a Mrs Grossman's heart with some added glitter. One of the things on the list...just too naughty to share on here! LOL! I used my TH Tiny Attacher to add those to the card.

And my layered flower and punched heart. This also shows a bit more of the detail, the ribbon and embossing.

Well we have had the most beautiful weather here...60's for awhile! And I've been walking close to daily, eating right and feeling amazing! A great start to the New Year with being healthy, having my house together and most importantly...crafting! LOL!

I hope you'll take a moment and stop at the Cafe and see what the other fine ladies have done as well! Have a good one! ~Leah

U and You ~SOUS January 6 sketch~

U and You

Hello friends! We're at our first weekend of the new year and I hope you all had a GREAT first week! I'm sure just getting settled back into routines with most of the kiddo's back to school. I'm glad to say that mine are back as well...what a long holiday! Ha! =)

So today is a sketch reveal day at SOUS and we've got one for ya by my friend, Nanne. Love this!

And here is my page! I pulled a few older photos of my daughter and my Daddy! Too cute! The left photo is of Jordyn at 6 months and I swear she looks just like a little dolly, so doesn't look real to me! =) And the fresh out of the bath picture is maybe 2 or 3, not sure. But makes me smile because I have memories of my Daddy combing my hair out of the bath and so that's what I think of...

I've used a collection of paper by Autumn Leaves. And the rest is a major pull from my stash. Here some Echo Park stickers, Smash tag, My Minds Eye label, some embossed kraft card stock.

Here shows some of the pull tags out, and more layered pieces. I've also done inking in Frayed Burlap and Victorian Velvet Distress Ink. I like the mix of brown and pink.

A close up of that photo....ahhhh!

And the chipboard that I covered with some Echo Park paper...that was some work but worth it in the end. I've sanded and also inked the leaves. Oh, forgot I added a few pieces of stamping from Papertrey Ink and Basic Grey labels as well.

Now embellishments is something that I don't think I have a ton of. And what I have is random to say the least...so this really was interesting to put this together. It always is when I do something this style. =)

I hope you'll go by SOUS, if you haven't already...can't wait to visit the DT blogs as well!

Happy 1st Week of 2012!

Flower ~The Cutting Cafe~

I'm so excited that this week we were asked to use The Cutting Cafe's new Loopy Flower. There are a few sizes available (and shown here) along with a neat variation with holes! Really cool! I can't wait to see what the entire team has done with this!

I wanted to think a bit outside the box...or on it, if you will! LOL! And made mine from vellum. 

I used a paint brush to add glue and then chunky gold glitter....pretty!

My little tag was made using Jot It Down, colored with Distress Inks to match my green brad in the center of the flower. Easy and cute! A gift to my youngest sister...Bebo is my family nickname. =)

Okay, well I guess this week I am the queen of quick blog posts but I am sure that's not too bad because who has time right now to read it all? Not I! =)

I'll see you guys soon for another post...have a great week!