hehe, I just love calling my challenges “dares!” It just makes them even more intriguing and I look forward to them. I dont know about you but I am a competitive person, so when you dare me, I dont back away. My poor, poor husband who tries to play Wii games and board or card games with me… he ends up just getting punched in the arm when he wins! haha but in all seriousness, who enjoys losing?

I am SUPER excited to say that I was one of the Papertrey Ink Annual Holiday Blog Hop WINNERS! I was a bit reluctant to even check on the winners board to see who won, I guess I just assumed that I wouldnt win… but as soon as I clicked that link and saw my name on the top, I just about screamed! It was so exciting to win something that I truly LOVE! I get to pick one free stamp set of my choice as my prize, and let me tell you, it didnt take much time to pick THIS ONE! The Damask Designs set has been used on many beautiful creations by other bloggers and the PTI Design Team, so I had had my eye on it for awhile now. I can not wait to play! Thanks Nicole and the PTI team for the opportunity to win great products!

Alright, now on to this week’s Dare. This week I DARE YOU… to flip your design. Take your pick of any sketch from out there in blog land and instead of doing it exact, flip it, turn it, and have fun with it. Even go as far as using opposites, such as stars for hearts, hearts for circles, leaves for squares… use your imagination and change it up a bit. Most sketch artists are totally cool with this as long as it still follows the main sketch! Below are a few of my favorite sketch sites for your convenience (I will be using the Unscripted Sketch that is shown above…):

Mojo Monday
2 Sketches 4 You
Unscripted Sketches
Card Patterns
CPS

Have fun flipping that design! Please do come back and share a link to your project if you decide to join my dare!

(((More Photos Below)))

This is my first time joining the Papertrey Ink’s Monthly Blog Hop! I have wanted to for a long time, but my monthly order never gets to me in time — however, this time I decided to simply use my current items because I just couldn’t pass up the Annual Holiday Blog Hop; I guarantee that this is going to be great!

I am a huge fan of traditional Christmas colors. I always see other’s using fun and new colors for their Christmas projects, but whenever I try, I just get frustrated and never like the result. So here I am again, using my favorite traditional Christmas colors on all of my projects and I have to say… I love the result!

This year we are going super simple. Decided to fill this little stocking with candies and some fun gift cards for our nephews who are 7 and 4 (and recently discovered how ‘fun’ picking your own gifts out with a gift card is!).  I used Papertrey Ink’s FREE Timeless Template: Stocking Stuffer. This template is probably the easiest template I have ever used and I was finished with this stocking in no time! I also created a mini card to match and while I was at it, I used my Slice to make some cute gift tags. (Supplies Used below) I hope you enjoy my photos and I am looking forward to all of the inspiring creations from everyone else this month too!!

Supplies Used:

Colors: CTMH Cranberry, Topiary, Cream and PTI Kraft
Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basics, PTI Fancy Flourishes, CTMH Victorian Snowflake
Accessories: Buttons, Cream Ribbon (gift tags)
Tools: Fiskars Crimper and my Slice

Goodmorning, everyone!

It is truly a beautiful day today! Us Southern Californians are totally being spoiled lately… where else can you have lovely rain for two days and then beautiful clear skies in the 80s the next week?! Sometimes I like to think that we pay for this amazing weather (even though I know that it is just a simple blessing!).

Anyway, welcome to Pile It On #21! This week we have an awesome color challenge for you! Blue, Green and Yellow, that is! I hope that you all enjoy my card for this week’s challenge… it came together surprisingly quickly considering the fact that I never work with these colors together. My mind wandered from pastels to bright to a more warm set of colors that has a more masculine feel. Check it out!

Challenges Used:

• Pile It On: Color Challenge — Blue, Green and Yellow
• Stamps and Smiles: Sketch
• TCP Tuesday: Buttons!
• ABC Challenge: F is for Flying

Supplies Used:
Colors: Blue, Green and Yellow
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits and PTI Fancy Flourishes
Accessories: Buttons, Embroidery Thread and Ribbon
Tools: Fiskars Crimper for added texture

Thanks for checking it out this week! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Design Team’s wonderful creations! Now Im off to the pumpkin patch :)

Happy Thursday everyone!

Wow, this week went by super fast and I LOVE IT! One of my friends recently asked me to make her some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (well, I ran out of paper cups for muffins, so I did loaves instead) so tonight, I broke out the Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves for the best recipe of the season! (For the recipe, scroll down…)

While everything was in the oven, I ran across Dawn McVey’s Color Challenge and I couldn’t resist. I decided to make a cute little ‘wrap’ for my friend’s loaf! Now, I know that the colors aren’t necessarily harvest, fall or even pumpkin colors, but I still think it goes nicely together and I love the color combo!

I simply took some Kraft Cardstock and made one 11 x3″ strip and one 9×3″ strip, designed the longer strip, scored it all to fit and then adhered the strips together after slipping it onto the loaf. Easy enough? haha. I think she will like it…

Supplies Used:

Now for the recipe…  it is SUPER EASY! You can have your house smelling delicious and fally in no time!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins/Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees and Lightly grease your loaf pans or prep your muffin pans with paper/foil cups.

Mix together the following:

1 Package of Yellow Cake Mix
1 15 oz. Can of Pumpkin
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp. Ground Cloves

Fold in 1 Cup of Chocolate Chips (more or less… to your liking!)

Fill loaf pans or muffin cups. For loaves, bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For muffins, bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. **I always sprinkle some extra Chocolate Chips on top of the loaves and muffins before baking to make them look pretty!

Yields: Two Loaves or 24 Standard Muffins

Thanks for coming by! P.S. IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL FALL RECIPES YOU LOVE, PLEASE DO SHARE! I LOVE RECIPES!

Why are gift cards so exciting to receive as a gift from someone?

I remember that as I grew older, all I ever wanted was gift cards, anything to be able to pick out my own gift! Now that I am older and buying gifts for my family and friends, I find that I miss giving an actual gift. I suppose there is a mixture of feelings toward wanting to pick out that fun and perfect gift for someone you love and also knowing what a blessing a gift card can be to someone. Even Garrett and I look forward to the gift cards we traditionally receive for Christmas now — they usually are for the movies, Starbucks and some nice restaurants — these really help us to take more time out of our lives to get out and spend time alone and together :)

Therefore, I have finally made a decision on this week’s DARE! I dare you (and myself) to make a special gift card holder! Feel free to make it in any way, with any template or guide, as long as it is created for the purpose of holding a gift card. For today’s Gift Card holder, I used the new template that Papertrey Ink has released called the Cash or Charge Collection by Lauren Meader. It includes three different templates to create some super special gift card holders; right in time for the holidays! I am SO excited to get started on these special little guys that will help me present my gifts in an extra thoughtful way! Check it out!

Supplies Used:

Colors: Just Us Girls color challenge: Red, Light Blue and Vintage Cream
Papers: PTI In Bloom and PTI Bitty Dot Basics
Stamps: PTI Fancy Flourishes and PTI Everyday Button Bits (sentiment)
Accessories: Large Red Button and Hemp
Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch and Hole Punch

Thanks for stopping by!