Sweet on you!

I had a fabulous crafty weekend. I was able to sit down and create—playing along with as many challenges as I could manage. Or course, I wasn't able to do everything I wanted to do, but I am happy that I got done as much as I did.

This card combines a color challenge and a sketch challenge. The sketch can be found at Card Patterns.


And the color challenge is from CR84FN. Here is the color palette and inspiration.


Thanks for stopping by to see my card today. I hope you had some creative time this weekend as well. Leave a comment so I can stop by your blog and see what you made. Have a great start to your week!

Way to go!

Today is a great day. Today my son graduates from Pre-K. I am so excited to see what they've been up to for their ceremony. Nate's been talking about the DVD, the song, how they practice calling their names and going to the front... I am so excited!!!

I made this card for Nate to celebrate his graduation. We are having a dinner beforehand, and we have a little present for him, too. He loves the Olivia books, and has been begging for this little stuffed animal of Olivia dressed as a pirate, so we got that for him, too. Like I said ... SO EXCITED!


I needed some inspiration to get this card going, so I played along at a few places. Here they are:
• Some Odd Girl has a manly challenge (and a DT Call, if you are interested)
• The Paper Variety also wants to see projects for the guys
• I used a card sketch at Card Patterns

My tip for this card ... I used the bike stamp from Hero Arts, and to make it more "guy-friendly" I cut off the basket. SIMPLE! Such an easy way to make your stamps more versatile. Take a look at what you have in your stash already that can be altered instead of purchasing gender-specific materials.

Thanks so much for checking in with my blog today. Like I said ... It's gonna be a great day! Have a fabulous weekend!!

Sketchy Thursdays {summer fun}

Here's my Sketchy Thursdays page for the week. Make sure to swing by the challenge site to see the sketch that's ready for you to play along with.

I used the June kit from The Sampler to make this page. I like that purple ribbon from the kit, and it seemed to go really well with the summer feel I was aiming for.


These pictures are from Memorial Day. We had met some of the cousins at a spray park for a little picnic. Nate decided to eat all of the watermelon I brought for us, and each time I asked for a bite he'd look the other way and pretend he couldn't hear me. He was making the cutest faces and was laughing so hard he could barely chew. I wanted to make sure to capture that. Adorable!


This week at Sketchy Thursdays we are giving away a great prize from ScrapBits. Such a cute shop! You really should check out the shop and the details on how to win.

Thanks for stopping by today! I just love Thursdays, don't you?! :)

With a cherry on top...

Hello! I couldn't help myself, and I ordered the cherry die cut and stamp set from Papertrey Ink. Nothing says summer like fruit, eh?! :)

I made this card with the Fruity Fun challenge from The Paper Variety in mind. And... if you saw Sketchy Thursdays on Saturday, Heidi posted some fabulous inspiration for the monthly GDT challenge that was also fruity. Here comes summer!


I also made a set of 5 blank note cards. I really just wanted to play with the cherry die and cut some felt and fabric. It worked really well, so I can see myself making these quite often. Such a great gift, don't you think?



Hopefully you're now in the summer spirit—I know I am. If you are, scoot on over to Sketchy Thursdays and play along for the GDT challenge.

Thanks for reading my blog today, and thanks to everyone for the nice comments yesterday about getting pubbed in CARDS. I really appreciate the feedback on my card. Have a great day!

CARDS news and {a winner}

I am so excited to have a card published in the June 2011 issue of CARDS magazine. I haven't submitted anything for publication in awhile, so this just reminded me to get back in that mindset and keep submitting. I get so caught up in other things that submitting always seems to fall to the end of the to-do list.


And I have a winner to announce ... Congrats, Andrea!


You are the winner of my single item Etsy shop draw from last Friday. Random.org chose you from last Friday's comments about hopping along with Amanda. Send an e-mail to me at dianadesigns [at] rochester.rr.com and let me know which single handmade floral embellishment you'd like me to send your way.

Thanks for stopping by today to read my blog—and for sharing in my fab getting pubbed news! Have a great Monday!

The Sampler {June kit}

The June kit for The Sampler is on sale, so grab your kit today! Head on over to the site HERE to purchase your kit.

Or... you can try to win one! The Sampler is currently sponsoring Sketchy Thursdays. See the challenge and read more about The Sampler HERE on this post.

Have a fabulous weekend!!

A card challenge {and a giveaway}

Sketchy Thursdays is sponsoring a challenge at the Scrapbook Circle blog, and it's a card sketch. Leave a link to your card in the comments on the Scrapbook Circle Challenge #9 Card Sketch blog post by Wednesday evening, June 15th for a chance to win a Crate Paper "Neighborhood" collection kit.


I used the June Garden Party kit from Scrapbook Circle when I made this card. I am so in love with the grey and yellow combination. So much so, that I considered repainting my dining room to do the room in these colors. Then we had some really hot days and I thought better of painting. :)

Hope to see you over at the Scrapbook Circle blog! Play along with us!!

***********

My bloggy friend, Amanda, is part of a fabulously inspiring hop this weekend. She is giving away one $20 gift card to my Etsy shop. I'd love to add some extra love to that hop for her.

If you hop over to her blog and follow along with her post, stop back here and let me know you hopped along with her. I'll send a single prize to one lucky commenter from this post. That winner from my blog will be able to choose one set of blooms from my shop just for commenting here that you did Amanda's hop. Make sense? :) You have until end of day on the 4th to leave your comment and I'll announce a winner shortly thereafter.

Thanks so much for stopping in today, much appreciated!! Have a fabulous day!

***********

Psssttt: If you read my blog yesterday, my flights to and from NYC went fabulously! I realized that I kinda like to fly, and it was a great day. And, NextStepU won the award!!

Sketchy Thursdays {a manly page}

Hello! It's Thursday, so I have a new sketch for you at Sketchy Thursdays. You can see the sketch as well as the prize that The Sampler has been so generous to offer up to this week's winner (a June kit!!). Head on over to the blog and join along. I'd love to see some of you over there!!


I used my Scrapbook Circle Garden Party kit to make this page. Aren't the colors just too yummy? I love the variation in the papers and patterns this month. Perfect for the moment I wanted to preserve.


This picture is from Nate's birthday party at Frontier Field when we went to the Red Wings game. It was a perfect day for this father-son pair.

And if YOU have a boy/father/son/man page or card you'd love to share, link up at the Paper Issues blog for the current MANLY Challenge.

There, I think I covered it all. And wish me luck today. By the time you read this, I would have already touched down in NYC for a day in the Big Apple. My flight is at the crack of dawn and I return by 4:30 this evening.

The NextStepU Sales Team is up for an award, and I'm one of the few going to support them and their chance at winning. I'll also be going on a sales call, which is a first for me since I'm the Production Director, but it's a team effort, eh?! :)

Not a huge fan of flying—scared to death is more like it. LOL! But ya gotta do it sometime, right?! See ya'll back here soon! Have a great Thursday!

Meet me at the door...

... the Polkadot Door, that is!

It's time for the June Inspirational Blog Hop at the Polkadot Door! I am happily Guest Designing for the second month here, and hope that you will join me in playing along!


Here is the Inspirational Challenge image for June. You can use any combination of the pieces in the image for your inspiration. And of course, when you share your creation with us, let us know what about the image inspired your creativity!


Here is what I made using the Inspiration for this month. I loved the nest and the coloring in the image. I feel like I really used all of the pieces of the image in this one. Those die cuts are from the Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden collection that I've been raving about.



Hopefully you find something inspiring in this challenge and will play along with us. Continue the journey and hop along with the rest of the June Guest Design Team. They are listed below...

Marivic
Jennifer
Valerie
Amanda
Diana (You are here!)
Sabrina
Nicole B.
Jennifer G.
Polkadot Door Designs

Did I mention that there will be prizes?! Polkadot Door Designs is giving away a Scrapbooking kit to our June Featured Designer!

Pinkpearlstudio is providing a digital download of scrapbooking goodies to the winner of the Inspiration Challenge.


Berry71Blue is providing 3 tags to winner of our Blog Hop.

Can't wait to see what you make for this challenge. Do the hop, leave a comment on the Polkadot Door site and then link up your entry for the month. See you over there!!