It's a Girl!

Okay my friends...don't get too excited! I'm not preggers!! My wonderful friend Christie's daughter-in-law is! Congrats Ciara! Christie owns the Scrappin Pad which happens to be right down the road from my house! It's a wonderful scrapbook retreat where I teach classes! Christie is one awesome gal and if you ever want to stay at a beautiful CLEAN cute scrapbook retreat you should check it out! PLUS I could come and see you! ;)
She asked me to make Ciara's baby shower invitations and I was very excited to do so! Ciara chose the colors and she loved how they turned out.
I stamped and hand colored the little onesie and hearts from the Baby Bundle set. I love how they turned out! :)
So I'm sorry I have been absent for a while! I've missed everyone!
I have been wearing my scrapbooking hat and working on scrapbook layouts that you will see in Creating Keepsakes this summer!


Before I go I have to share this FUN blog award I received from Julie DiMatteo! I was so surprised to come back from my blog hiatus to see she awarded me the Cherry on Top Blog Award! Thank you so much Julie! You made my day! :)
So now I have to pass it on to 5 wonderful bloggers and list 3 things about myself!
Here are some fun bloggers:
1. Michelle Last
2. My friend Kris from SUDSOL
3. Patty Bennett
4. My Stampin Up Upline Kris
5. Amy Celona
Love your blogs girls! :)

So here are my 3 things!
1. My sweet hubby and I have been together for 18 years and have been married for 9! Our parents went to high school together(yes both of our parents were high school sweethearts as well) and we have known each other almost our whole lives. I used to go over to his house and play all the time. We were even boyfriend and girlfriend through many elementary and junior high school years.
I had a layout published about it a couple of years ago in CK.

2. I LOVE to cook almost more than I LOVE to eat! ;) I cook at least 6 nights a week. I share recipes sometimes on my personal blog, Scrap Happens.
3. It's near impossible to embarrass me. The only person that can achieve that is my son when he misbehaves in public! Luckily it doesn't happen very often!
I have no problem getting on stage or speaking in front of people. As a matter of fact my DREAM JOB is selling stuff on QVC!!
I LOVED being in theater in high school and college! No one would EVER describe me as shy....right Christi? ;)

Well I hope you enjoyed the invitation share today! If you have any questions about recreating it yourself just send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
Please remember that Sale-a-Bration ends March 31st! If you want to host a Stampin Up night OR place an order let me know!

Happy Color

When I first saw this color combo in the Color Coach I knew I had to use it! These colors together just seemed so happy! Haha! That may seem crazy, but if you love color like I do you totally get it! ;)
It took me a while to figure out a card that was right for it! Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, and Pumpkin Pie are very beautiful, but bright colors! I was flipping through an older issue of Paper Crafts magazine a few weeks ago and a card caught my eye. I thought it would be perfect for this color combo! Between now and then I have cleaned the scrap room several times and can't remember what issue the card was in! If I come across it I will gladly give credit to the artist that inspired this card!

Supplies:
4x5.5 inch white card
Silhouette Sentiments Stamp Set (Hostess Set)
Ink in Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock in Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Melon Mambo Ribbon
Small Oval Punch
Scallop Oval Punch
Stamp-a-ma-Jig

Scrap piece of cardstock

Directions:
*It is very important to use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig on this card. I'm going to assume you are using this to line up your stamps so I am not going to include this in the directions.
1. Cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to 5x3.5 inches.
2. You will be stamping your flowers at about .75 of an inch from the top of the cardstock. Start stamping on the left with the Melon Mambo ink.
3. Ink your stamp and stamp once on the cardstock. Stamp two more times without re-inking your stamp. (You may have to huff on the stamp to remoisten the ink.)
4. Next you will stamp with the Pumpkin Pie ink. Ink your stamp and stamp off twice on your scrap piece of paper and stamp the first Pumpkin Pie flower.
5. Ink your stamp again with Pumpkin Pie and stamp off once on your scrap piece of paper and stamp your second Pumpkin Pie flower.
6. Ink your stamp again with Pumpkin Pie and stamp the third flower without stamping off.
7. Last you will stamp with Pacific Point ink. Ink your stamp and stamp once on the cardstock. Stamp two more times without re-inking your stamp. (You may have to huff on the stamp to remoisten the ink.)
8. Cut a piece of Pacific Point cardstock to slightly smaller than your card front. Adhere to the front of the card.
8. Adhere your stamped piece on your Pacific Point cardstock.
9. Adhere your ribbon along the bottom of the stamped flowers.
10. Punch a scallop oval out of the Pumpkin Pie cardstock. Stamp your sentiment onto Whisper white with Pacific Point ink. Punch out with the small oval punch and adhere the the scallop oval. Adhere just below the knot in your ribbon.

I hope you love this card as much as I do! You could use just about any color combo!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
I hope you have a fab Friday!!








ETA: I found the magazine! Wahoo! I very rarely CASE or scraplift so it was very important to me that I find the magazine and give credit where it's due!
This card was inspired by a card in the new Papercrafts special Stamp It issue. The card is on page 86 and it's by Cristina Kowalczyk. Thank you Cristina for the inspiration! :)

Love Make-n-Take

Happy Thursday! The snow is still here and so are my hubby and son! Eric goes back to work tomorrow, but Brodey doesn't have school! That's why I am posting so late today!
This fun and simple card is actually a Make-n-Take I will be doing this weekend at the Scrappin Pad! 11 ladies have decided to brave the elements and crop 'til they drop this weekend! I think they will enjoy this card!
I know that most of you won't be at the Scrappin Pad this weekend so I'm going to share my supplies and directions here for you! The stamp set is called Love Defined. I've used it on several cards I have posted HERE and HERE. It's available in the Occasions Mini Catalog for a limited time.

Supplies:
White 4x5.5 inch card
Cardstock in Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo
Love Defined Stamp Set
Small Oval Punch
Circle Punch
Scallop Oval Punch
Ink in Whisper White Craft, Melon Mambo, Baja Breeze
Markers in Melon Mambo and Baja Breeze
Embossing Folder

Directions:
1. Cut a piece of Melon Mambo cardstock to 2x4 inches. Emboss with embossing folder and Big Shot machine. Take your Whisper White craft ink and ink the raised portion of the embossed image.
2. Take your embossed piece, place it on the card, and use a pencil to lightly trace along the top and bottom. (These pencil lines will act as a guide for you to stamp the heart strings.)
3. Take the heart strings stamp, ink with Baja Breeze ink, and stamp over the pencil marks.
4. Adhere your embossed piece of cardstock where you drew the pencil lines. (Apply your adhesive to the card so that you do not flatten out the embossed design.)
5. Punch a scallop circle out of the Baja Breeze cardstock.
6. Stamp your flamingo stamp onto Whisper White cardstock using Melon Mambo ink. Punch out with the circle punch and adhere to the Baja Breeze scallop circle. Adhere to the card.
7. Use your markers to color the love stamp as shown in the photo above. Huff on the stamp to remoisten the image and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock. Punch out with the small oval punch and adhere to the card.

This is a very cute and simple card that uses some fun techniques! Just about any color combo would work!
Well I'm headed to bed! I'll be posting a very colorful card tomorrow!

Thinking of You

Happy Wednesday! I'm snowed in with the hubby and son! I'm lucky I was able to finish this card! ;)
I stamped this colorful card with the Sweet Summer set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog! (Aw summer would be VERY sweet right now! Haha!) You can view Sale-a-Bration items HERE!
I simply stamped the different images with Stampin Up ink to create this scene. I then took my blender pen and blended the stamped color into the image! Quick and easy with beautiful results!
If you have any questions about this card please don't hesitate to send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
The boys are trying to find me! I think I'll go hide in the laundry room! ;)

Happy Thoughts

I love the sentiment on this card! Especially when I watch our weather and it tells us about another winter storm moving in tonight! Right now my happy thought would be that next month the grass will start to turn green! ;)
This is a very simple card I made today with one of my favorite color combos and a hostess set called Apple Blossoms. I used it on a set of cards HERE.
My color combo today is Baja Breeze, Soft Suede(or Kraft), and Cherry Cobbler. If you were to ask me what my favorite color is right now it would be Baja Breeze. It's the most perfect shade of blue. I have to make myself not use it on every single card!

Supplies:
-Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler
-Stamps: Apple Blossoms
-Cardstock: Soft Suede or Kraft, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
-Decorative Lable Punch(Sentiment)
-Boho Blossoms Punch(Two Small Flowers)
-Crop-a-Dile (as a hole punch)

Directions:
1. Cut a piece of Kraft cardstock to 8x5.5 inches. Score down the middle at 4 inches.
2. Cut a piece of Baja Breeze cardstock to 5 x 4 1/8 inches. Randomly stamp the large flower and small flower from the Apple Blossoms set with the Baja Breeze ink.
3. Cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to 5 1/8 x 3.75 inches. Adhere your Baja Breeze piece to the Cherry Cobbler piece.
4. Cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to 5.5 x 1.5 inches. Use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to Stamp the circle stamp onto the cardstock using Cherry Cobbler ink.
5. Use your hole punch or Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the stamped image.
6. Cut a piece of Kraft cardstock to 5.5 x 2 inches. Adhere the piece of Cherry Cobbler to the Kraft piece with foam adhesive squares to pop it up.
7. Stamp your sentiment onto Baja Breeze cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink. Punch out with the Decorative Label punch. Adhere this with foam adhesive squares.
8. Ink your large flower stamp with Chocolate Chip and stamp twice onto Whisper White cardstock. Punch the center of the flowers out with the medium flower from the Boho Blossoms punch. Adhere the flowers to the card as shown in the photo.

I hope you like today's card! Everyone had to cancel for tonight's Stamper's Night Out due to the weather. I'm sad! I always enjoy my classes, but I will see everyone on the 22nd! There are only 2 spots left for that class if you would like to come!If you want to reserve those spots you need to email me at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
Don't forget Sale-a-Bration is still going on but only until the end of next month! Who doesn't love free stuff? ;)
Well I'm headed back to the craft room to plan March's Stamper's Night Out!
Stay warm!

Keep it Simple Day 3

We are keeping is "sew" simple today! ;) Hubby is back to work, but Brodey is still here! AND it's snowing again. It has been all day nonstop. I'm not sure how much has been dumped on us today, but I do know that any and all areas the boys messed up are filled back in!
Todays card is a play off of yesterday's card. The cool thing about this card is that it could be for just about any occasion you could think of. The hearts can be replaced with flowers, brads, stamped images, anything!
All I did was score the lines, use my markers to fill them in with color, and then I sewed over the lines with my sewing machine.
The hearts are punched with the smaller heart from the Heart to Heart punch. The sentiment is from the wedding stamp in the Fun and Fast Notes set.
Well I'm headed back into the craft room to finish some scrapbook pages I have to get done!
Have a wonderful Friday!

Keep it Simple Day 2

The boys are still here! While I LOVE them being home I get way more accomplished when I'm alone! ;) So today I am sharing another super simple card.
I was uploading a photo to the gallery at Split Coast Stampers and this card by Emily Keaton caught my eye.

As soon as I saw it my light bulb came on. I LOVED the scored stripes at the bottom of the card, but what if I scored it on the opposite side and then used the skinny side of my marker to draw in the line? And that's where the inspiration for today's card came from!
It's very quick to make and you can personalize it with the All in the Family stamp set! The scored lines are difficult to see in the photos, but look so cute in person!

The color combo for my card is Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, and Tangerine Tango. LOVE this color combo! It makes me think of summer!

Supplies:
All in the Family Stamp Set
Family Accessories Stamp Set
Sentiment from the Fun and Fast Notes Set
4x5.5 Inch White Card
Three Orange Brads
Score Pal or Bone Folder
Scallop Square Punches or Dies
Black Stazon
Markers in Blush Blossom(for skin), Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, and Tempting Turquoise
Watercolor Paper
Cardstock in Tempting Turquoise
Stamp-a-ma-Jig

Directions:
1. Stamp your little person onto a piece of watercolor paper using the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to line the stamps up. Color in with your markers.
2. Punch or die cut the person out with your square scallop punch or die.
3. Punch or die cut a larger scallop square from the Tempting Turquoise cardstock. Adhere the smaller square to the larger square with foam adhesive squares.
4. Take your card and score (outside up)at 0.5 inches from the bottom and two more lines at .25 inches apart. Use the skinny end of your markers to draw a line in the scored lines of the card. (This is best done while your card is still on the Score Pal.)
5. Ink the sentiment only from the birthday stamp in the Fun and Fast notes set. Stamp on the card right above the highest scored line. Outline with the skinny end of the Old Olive marker.
6. Add three orange brads just below the sentiment between two of the scored lines.
7. Adhere your scalloped squares to the card.

This card was a ton of fun to make and the kids LOVE having a card with a cartoon look alike! ;) You don't even have to make it a birthday card! That stamp set has a ton of different accessories with it! The possibilities are endless!
Well I'm headed back into the scrapbook room to try and finish a layout! We will see how that goes!
If you have any questions about this card send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

Keep it Simple

Keeping it simple isn't always easy, but it sure is a good thing to keep in mind when you are running out the door to a wedding shower!
I always want to add more and more to a card, but there have been plenty of times I waited until the last second to make a card for a wedding shower, baby shower, or birthday party. This card can be made in no time!
I combined two stamp sets for this card. I used the happiness stamp from the Heard from the Heart set and the flower stamp from the Thanks for Caring set. Both of these are beautiful and versatile sets that are good to have on hand.

Supplies:
Watercolor Paper
Cardstock (Blushing Bride and Certainly Celery)
First Edition Designer Series Paper
Markers (Soft Suede, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Old Olive)
Blender Pen
Heard from the Heart Stamp Set
Thanks for Caring Stamp Set
Scallop Border Punch
Basic Rhinestones
Stamp-a-ma-Jig

Directions:
1. Trim your watercolor paper to 5.75 x 5.5 inches. Score the shorter side at 2.75 inches.
2. Take the happiness stamp from the Heard from the Heart set and ink the small words with the Soft Suede marker. Ink the happiness word with the Certainly Celery marker. Go back and ink only the happiness letters with Old Olive to make them stand out. Huff on the stamp and stamp onto the card.
3. Use your Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position the flower stamp from the Thanks for Caring Stamp set. (You can line this up at the end of the line from the happiness word.)
4. Take the stamp and ink the leaf and stems with your Certainly Celery marker. Ink the flowers with the Blushing Bride marker. Huff on the stamp to remoisten the ink and stamp with the Stamp-a-ma-Jig.
5. (optional) Take your blender pen and lightly go over the stamped sentiment. Use your blender pen to blend the leaf and stems. Take your Pink Pirouette marker and color in the centers of the flowers. Use your blender pen to blend out the color.
6. Top the flower centers with the rhinestones.
7. Trim a piece of the First Edition DSP to 0.75 x 5.75 inches. Adhere to the bottom of the card.
8. Punch your Blushing Bride cardstock with the Scallop Border punch. Trim (2) pieces to 5.75 x 0.5 inches. Adhere one piece to the top of the card and the other piece to the top of the First Edition strip.
9. Trim a piece of the Certainly Celery cardstock to 0.25 x 5.75 and adhere to the top of the pink scallop piece.

That's it! Pretty simple, right? You can make changes to simplify the card.
- You could just use paper strips instead of the Scallop Border punch.
- You can skip the blender pen steps.
You will still have a beautiful card just minus the little details! ;)
I hope this post finds you warm and well! We still have a ton of snow here in Oklahoma with the wind chill at 3 degrees. I'm ready for summer!
If you have any questions about this card please don't hesitate to email me at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

Happy Everything!

Hi!! I have been MIA for several days! I have been getting prepared for this huge winter storm that dumped ice, sleet, and now snow on us! I'm hoping we got less ice than expected and we will not lose power!
So while the boys (hubby and son) were watching cartoons I made this little trifold birthday card!
I used the versatile On a Pedestal stamp set. It's one of the first Stampin Up sets I got and I love it. Both sentiments in this set are sweet and can be used on birthday cards, anniversary cards, thanks you cards, and so on!
I cut the Daffodil Delight, Rose Red, and Tangerine Tango into strips and adhered them to two pieces of white cardstock. I ran them through my Big Shot and embossed them. I then took my Whisper White Craft ink and went over the cardstock. This really made my embossed design pop and I think it looks like icing on a cake! Haha! Or maybe I just want some good birthday cake! ;)
This was a fun and simple card to make! If you have any questions about it send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
Don't forget it's Sale-a-Bration! This is THE time to host a party, join Stampin Up, or just place an order!