Montana

This card I'm showing today is a card I made for my grandparents. We had a family reunion at their cabin in Montana over the Fourth of July. Montana is an absolutely beautiful place, so green and so much of it just left untouched. My brother saw a black bear while going for a walk in the morning! We saw a bunch of deer, and some antelope and elk as well.







Here are a couple of pictures I took of the property that is surrounding my grandparents, isn't it amazing? And I had to throw in a picture of my niece, cuteness herself:-) She was standing cautiously back protecting her 'special puppy' while we were petting the neighbors horses. Her name is Madeline Sophia, and yes, I named Sophia after her!:-) It was so nice to be there and to just completely relax. There is no cell phone reception and no internet connection, it was bliss!lol I sent this card with Howdy Girlfriend Sophia on it to them to say thank you for letting us all take over their cabin for a couple of weeks. I think this image couldn't have been more perfect for them. I paper pieced Sophia's bandana and skirt with some paper I bought from Target and for the denim part of the skirt, I scanned in a pair of REALLY old jeans and printed it out and used it for my dp! I really like the effect of it:-) Am heading to a cousin's wedding today and have a bunch of cleaning to do before we take off, hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend!

Today has been one of those busy, catch up days! You know those days where no matter what you get done it feels like you have a million more to do? A few people asked about the dp I used on my photo album in the last entry. It was from a paper pad I bought made by the domestic goddess herself, Martha Stewart. It's called Botanical Classics and I bought it at WalMart! We don't have WalMart in SF, so when I went with my mom last time I was visiting home, I was shocked at how big there craft section is! They've got great stuff, will definitely be checking back there when I get a chance. I bought this pad thinking its the exact colors for my cousins wedding and would be perfect for a card for her and her fiance, but I think I've used it for every project I've done lately. Can't seem to get enough of it! :-) I even used a little in this card I made for my parents. Danielle made the greatest sketch over at Paper Pretties and I finally got to use it. I will definitely be using it again!



This Sophia image is one of my favorites. Sometimes a drawing can be really hard and frustrating. You have to keep reworking it to get the mood and feeling across that you're trying to portray. And sometimes it's like it just flows out of the pencil. This image was definitely one of those. It must be because of my love for fall:-) Hope you all are having a fabulous day, and thanks for stopping by!

Mini Album Challenge

Two weeks ago I gave the prettie girls the challenge of making a mini album. I love making albums and the little tiny albums that I saw on SCS were so adorable I had to come up with an excuse to make my own:-) It took me awhile to decide which tutorial to pick from, but I finally decided to do the Pull Out Scrapbook. My album is going to Danielle and since Danielle had a birthday not too long ago, I decided to make something she could put her pics of the big 3-0 in:-)



I chose the image from Soakin' Up The Sun because I think that is definitely the way I would want to spend my bday if it was in the summer. The sentiment I made in Illustrator and printed out. I knew I had to use blue because if you've been to Danielle's blog, you know she likes blue!:-)



Here is a pic of the inside. I have to say, I think it came out pretty cute and I can't wait to make another one. They make the perfect little gifts! Make sure to go check out the amazing projects the Prettie Team did, they always come up with something amazing to inspire me! Danielle challenged us last week to do a shaker card which I've never done before. It sounds like fun though, can't wait to try it:-)

A VERY Late Prettie Challenge

I finally got around to doing the Prettie challenge that Jessie issued us last week, to have at least three embellishments on a card. The card I had started for it I decided not to use because I just couldn't figure out how to put another embellishment on it. But than I remembered this card of Charmaine's that I always loved and wanted to try someday. So this is what I came up with.



And if you count the liquid pearls I used on Sophia's necklace, that's FOUR embellishments on this card! How about that, huh? The paper piercing, ribbon and crystal on Sophia's flower are the other three. Now I have to ask you ladies, can anyone explain to me what CASEing is? I know that your taking a card that someone made and making it your own kind of, but are there certain rules and what does CASEing stand for? And what I've done with Charmaine's card, is this considered CASEing? If someone could explain all of this to this poor newbie I would much appreciate it!:-)

Thank you for all your sweet comments about Laddu's dog, Portia. It looks like she actually might be ok for awhile. She had basically lost control of her back legs and could not walk at all. It was so sad to see her just laying there in pain like that. But the doctor gave her two shots of cortisone and a couple days later she started walking around on her own! She kind of walks like a drunk dog, but at least she's moving! Its so good to see her her happy self again. The vet was really happy with her progress, so we'll just have to see how she does from here.

The engagement party was really fun. I met a lot of his family for the first time and everyone was really great, so that was a big relief!:-) Here are a few pics for those that are interested.



This is me and one of my best friends Neelum. We met in the 4th grade and have stayed friends ever since:-)



This is a pic of my parents and 'little' brother after they had finished their part in the ceremony. As you can see from Laddu's face he's really enjoying all of this;-)



This is after the chinni (I'm sure I just butchered the spelling on that) was put on me.



And here we are with all my future in laws:-)

I also wanted to send out a huge congratulations to Jessie for being chosen Featured Stamper on SCS! I'm still learning what SCS is all about, but I do know this is a huge honor! Congrats Jessie! I'll be back tomorrow with the challenge that I gave the prettie girls, to make a mini album!

Very Late Prettie Challenge

Here it is, 10 minutes until Thursday and my prettie Wednesday card is still not finished:-( I've decided this is not my fault, but Jessie's for giving me such a hard challenge!;-) The card is pretty much done, I just have to figure out one more embellishment to stick on there since the challenge was to include three different kinds. My limit seems to be two. But I'll figure it out! I honestly haven't had much time to concentrate on it too much. Laddu's, my fiance, dog got really sick this week and it looks like they may have to put her down:-( He's pretty upset about it and we've been making a lot of trips back and forth from his parents. With all the driving, trying to get ready for the engagement party and trying to get some illustration work done, card making pretty much got put on the back burner this week. I'm leaving early in the morning tomorrow to help with the last minute things for the party and will be back Sunday afternoon. I'm nervous about being the center of attention around so many people, but I'm very excited about the gorgeous sari I get to wear. One of the best things about marrying into the indian culture is the beautiful clothes!;-)

So I will leave you with this card I made for my brother and his wife last week for the anniversary. I used the stamp from our Sealed With A Kiss set and used the colors that were used in their wedding. I'll be back Sunday with my three embellishment card and probably a few pictures from the party. Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!

Going Dotty Challenge

Danielle over at Paper Pretties has been giving us some great challenges every week. I love doing challenges, I feel like it gives me a starting point:-) This card I'm showing you is for the one from last week, to use polka dots. I thought this one be a fun one to try out and also a good excuse to use Paper Pretties Sassy Circles set. I'm a little late to enter, but I guess better late than never!:-) This card is going to my ex roommate who moved back home to Norway a few months ago. I definitely miss all the girl talk we used to do:-( I love being with Laddu, but when it comes to gossip and what shoes go with what, he's not much use;-)
I used brighter colors than I normally do and had a lot of fun with it. I think I may have to try these colors more often.



Danielle gave a sketch challenge for this week. I LOVE the sketch, and I've seen some beautiful cards made with it already! I'm definitely going to have to find some time this week to try it out:-) Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Just a quick post before we head off to visit Laddu's parents. I wanted to show you a guest book I made for Laddu's mom, I think it turned out really pretty! Laddu's parents are throwing an engagment party for us/anniversary party for Laddu's brother and wife. And if you know anything about the indian culture, they don't do little dinner parties, they go BIG! For this party there is going to be probably around 200-250 people! Crazy, huh? Laddu's mom mentioned awhile ago wanting to get a guest book and I thought that could be an area where I could do something since she's been doing all of the planning and decorating so far. A couple of christmas' ago I made them a photo album using maroon and gold satin. I sewed a pattern onto the maroon with gold thread and sequins. It turned out beautiful, but took awhile to do! I didn't have much time this time so I used the left over fabric I had from that project, used the heart background stamp from Sealed With A Kiss, stamped all over the maroon fabric with gold ink and came up with this:-) I really like the result and am excited about giving it to her! Better run, hope you all have a good weekend!