LOTS TO SHARE!

Hey All! Happy Saturday! I hope all is well in your world. I have lots to share with you today so I'll get right to it! I have 3 cards to share with you, a recommendation of an online store, some amazing RAKs I received, and an announcement. So if you don't read anything else, be sure you read the last few paragraphs! LOL

My cards today are Easter themed for obvious reasons. I also have one card that for the first time I cased from SCS. So on to my the first card:




As most of you know, I'm a big fan of House Mouse stamps by Stampabilities. When I saw this one, I knew it would make a great Easter card. This one is called "Will Knit for Friends". I colored the image with colored pencils and OMS. The paper is from Paper Studio and the card stock is Bazzill. I used white photo corners and colored them to accent the card.


The next is another Easter card made with a HM stamp. This one is called "Eggcellent". These are bunnies from their Happy Hopper line.



Again, colored with colored pencils and OMS. The paper too is again from The Paper Studio and card stock is Bazzill. Each layer on this card is mounted with 3-d foam squares, so this has some hight to it. I then added the coordinating brads to finish it off.

My next card is the one I cased. As I understand it, when you case a card you have to change 3 things about the card. I don't know if that is a rule or just the rules for a challenge on SCS. Regardless, I would never try to duplicate any one's work. It's kind of like American Idol for me. You take a card idea and "make it your own". LOL You can all be the judges on this one and see if you would vote me through to the next round. Here is the card I "cased":



I have tried so hard to find the artist who did this card on SCS, but after searching over 30 pages of cards and using keywords to search, I still can not find who did this gorgeous card. EDITED TO ADD: Two people found her for me! You guys are so awesome! Here is the link to the SCS post: HERE And you can see her actual blog HERE. Jean aka CraftJean on SCS found the link to the SCS gallery, and the other was found by my blogging buddy Julia. Thanks again you two!

Here is my version:



I do love how this one turned out. I love the effect of looking up at the dragonfly flying by. As you can see, I changed many things to make it my own. I left the circle in tact, used a dragonfly instead of a butterfly, used different foliage, added brackets instead of ribbon, different colors, etc. This person's card was really an inspiration for me. I just wish I knew who it was. This has taught me to be more cognisant when making notes.

Now, on to the RAKs I mentioned at the beginning of the post. The first is from a very new blogging friend who lives in Canada. Her name is Bonnie, and she is a groomer and also has a Miniature Schnauzer. She is a huge dog lover like I am. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a blog that I can share with you, but based on the card she sent me with my gifts, she is so talented! Here is what I received from her:



Is this awesome or what??? A gift for me and gifts for my boys! I was amazed at her generosity. The bookmark is brass and has this wonderful saying: "A dog is the only thing that loves you more than he loves himself. ~ Josh Billings" I just can't thank you enough, Bonnie. I will cherish these always!

Another wonderful RAK arrived the same day! It is from my wonderful blogging buddy Jodi at Inked Inspirations. Here is what she sent me:



Are those puppy faces cute or what? She had gotten this for me awhile back, but had misplaced it, and then recently found it again and sent it to me. I lOVE it so much, Jodi! Thank you for your thoughtfulness knowing how much I love Schnauzers and thinking of me. You are very sweet!

OK, now for a BIG recommendation for an online store that I am very impressed with. The store is Creativeplaystamps.com. The owner is Laura Hampton and is located in Illinois. WHAT AMAZING SERVICE! I had been jacked around by another online store (which I won't mention) and gave up on an order that I had been waiting for for 9 weeks! I cancelled that order and went to Creative Play Stamps to order my Nestabilities. Not only were they on sale, but she also carried House Mouse stamps (and a ton of other stuff). So, I ordered a few other things and got my priority shipping free. I placed my order on a Wednesday night, and had it in hand on Saturday morning! I was having trouble (due to my stupid computer) placing an order on her site. I sent her an email and she responded literally in minutes to help. Once I placed my order, she sent an email (again in minutes) telling me that she had pulled my items and they were ready to go out. I then received an email from the USPS that it had been shipped with a tracking number. When the package arrived, she had also included a free gift (small ink pad) with my order. I couldn't be more impressed, and I plan to order from her again in the near future. Go check her online store out. Huge selection, and AMAZING service! Thanks again Laura! You have a very happy customer here!

Finally, my Blogaversary is coming up in 10 days. I also noticed this morning that I have gone over the 20,000 hit count. So I'm going to be celebrating! Stay tuned for my Blogaversary Celebration. More details to come in my next post in a few days, so stay tuned.

That's it for now! Again, thanks so much for your incredible comments and support. You are all the reason why I do this, and I wouldn't be doing this without you! I hope you all have a FABULOUS Easter! Don't forget the pic of the week below! I'll see you on your blogs this week!

Best,

Curt

"God help me be the person my dogs think I am."