Hand Stamped By Lacey

ABC Christmas Challenge: R is for Recycling, Ribbons, &/or Rhinestones

Hello stamping friends!!

I'm starting to feel better although I'm still coughing, wheezing and stuffy! But at least I can function. I got really behind last week when I spent 3 days barely doing anything but reading a few books. So I've been trying to catch up on house work and laundry - not fun when you're still a little sick. But it's got to be done. 

I have to get ready to go to Tennessee this weekend. We are taking the kids to their first University of Tennessee Volunteer Football game! My husband is a huge UT fan since he was born and raise in TN. So I think it will be fun for them to share something that means so much to my husband. Of course, we will be visiting my in laws as well while we are up there. But that means we have an 8 hour drive on Friday and again on Monday. After all of my Summer travel, I almost stayed home for this trip. But wanted to be there when my kids went to their first UT game so it's worth the drive. 

Ok, so now it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge. Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?! I know it's not even September yet, but it takes awhile to get all of the Holiday cards done! I'm glad I've been working on them all year!

We are now on "R" so the Challenge is:

R is for Recycling, Ribbons, &/or Rhinestones.

I used all 3...

I used some packaging from these ornamental frames and embossed a sheet of plastic to add some texture to my card.

I'm determined to use my older Christmas stamps at least once this year!! There are always so many wonderful new stamps, but I gotta play with my old ones, too. This is Christmas Kitty Fun from High Hopes Rubber Stamps. I embossed the image, colored the kitties, box, and ribbon with Twinkling H2Os and paper-pieced the wrapping paper.

The paper is some new Lime Twist - Out of the Blue from My Mind's Eye (it's not a Christmas collection, but I loved the fun colors and I wanted to use this blue ribbon). The ribbon is recycled from some store bought item - can't remember what it was, but it was wrapped in this ribbon so I kept it for future use. 

I also added some Rhinestone brads and sticky back Rhinestones.

 

 

Can you see the embossed plastic behind the image? I love the circles with the stripes.

Ok, now it's your turn!! Let's see your take on the R Challenge.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Lollipop Crafts: Recycle it

Party Time Tuesday - Anything Goes

Forever Friends: 3-D (must include an animal)

Stamps and Fun: Dots and Stripes (the dots are on the embossed plastic sheet behind the image - hard to see in the photo).

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

~Lacey

High Hopes Tutorial Time

Hello stamping friends!

Just a quick post to let you know that I am hosting the Tuesday Tutorial over at the High Hopes Blog. Come check out my easy tutorial on how to create these fun cupcake toppers...

Happy stamping!!

~Lacey

Stamp and Create Product Spotlight Sale - Magnolia Stamps

Hello stamping friends!!

Well, I am still sick! Really?! I really hope this thing goes away soon. But I have to push through it since I have so much to do. In addition to the store, we are going out of town this weekend for my kid's first Tennessee Volunteer College Football game!! My husband is a huge UT fan (since he was raised in Tennessee) so this is something special that the kids will get to share with their daddy. 

Then the following weekend is Ansley's 9th birthday!! We have a lot to do to get ready for her birthday party. She wants a "Minute to Win it" challenge party theme. Do you watch that game show? She loves it. My husband promised her this party so he gets to deal with putting the games together. Oh, by the way, the day of her party is also the first soccer games for BOTH kids! So we will be at the field all morning, having a few girls over in the afternoon to go to the pool, then the party in the evening. After the party, a few of her girlfriends are staying over for a sleep over!! Lord give me strength!

Over the summer we wanted Ansley to continue to read. As soon as she keeps up with reading on a regular basis, she does fine. But if she skips a few weeks, she seems to loose focus and has a hard time with her comprehension. Therefore, we promised her a "prize" if she read 10 chapter books over the summer. She did it! She actually read 11 books (mostly Judy Moody and The Magic Tree series books). She chose that she wanted her room painted as her prize! Ok, fine with us - we only had the flat builder paint in her room so it needed some color. Well, in order to figure out what color to do, we also decided it was time for a new comforter. She had a huge mark on her old one from a marker!! So, instead of just painting her walls, we gave her a total bedroom makeover!! It's not done yet - we just have the final touches to finish up. We promised her it will be done in time for her birthday party on Sept 10th. 

Anyway, so while being sick, I was working on decorating her room. My husband did the painting and the labor, but I did the design. And let me tell you...I LOVE it!! I did a few craft projects in the room, too. So I will share pictures as soon as the room is finished. 

Ok, so now it's time for the new Product Spotlight Sale.

This week, all Magnolia Stamps are on sale 25% off. 

To showcase how the Winner Takes it All collection is perfect for scrapbook pages as well as cards, I decided to do a scrapbook layout from our 4th of July trip to Hammock Beach...

On July 4th, we went to the "real grass" putting green at the hotel's golf course for a little putt putt golf. One of our friends and his daughter joined us as well.  

I die cut the letters using a sizzix alphabet die set, then I ran it through a Fiscars Crimper for a corregated look. I'm not sure if it shows up in the pictures well, though.

I also embossed some white cardstock using a Cuttlebug folder to create a huge golfball.

I cut up the score-card and added it to the bottom of the layout.

I used Golf Tilda - perfect for this layout!! 

 

I have a hard time taking great photos of my layouts. They always look so much better in real life, but what can you do?!

Thanks for stopping by!! Happy stamping!

~Lacey

Candy Winner

I'm sorry that I didn't post the winner of the WOJ Back to School Candy on Thursday like I had planned. On Tuesday night I came down with a nasty cold. Besides packing and shipping orders and a little computer work, I was basically out cold on the couch on Wednesday and Thursday. On friday, I finally got the energy to get to the doctor. I'm on antibiotics and predizone, but I still feel HORRIBLE!! 

Anyway, thank you to everyone who entered the Candy.

The random winner is:

Congratulations, Marion!!

Please contact me at stampandcreate@bellsouth.net with your mailing address and I'll get this out to you!!

High Hopes Challenge: Autumn Colors

Hello stamping friends!!

Wow! Monday was just a crazy day. One of those days where you go non-stop, but don't really feel like you accomplished anything by the end of the day? Yeah, that's what I felt like yesterday - although I did get work, orders, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, some laundry, and stamping done...but still!

Oh, and I had another darn scorpion in my house!! I was just telling the cleaning lady (I have bad asthma and allergies so we have someone come in to do the deep cleaning) to be careful when she picks up something off the floor because that is what happened when I got stung...and darn if we both didn't look at something in the corner of our eye that ended up being another small scorpion!! Luckily we saw it and were able to easily step on it (she had shoes on) before anyone got stung. Then she went home and was cleaning her own house and found another scorpion under the rug by her front door!! She doesn't live near me but she does live by some woods - so I guess they are just out in full force this year!! I've never seen one in my house EVER...and now I've had 4!!

Anyway, our bug guy is coming back out today. I want them to check in the attic. That's the only place that hasn't been treated yet. EWWWW!!!

Ok, so it's time for the new High Hopes Challenge.

This week's challenge is being hosted by Niki and her challenge is: Autumn/Fall Colors

(Think: Reds, Oranges, Browns, Purples, and Black).

I decided to go with a Halloween themed project this week. It's actually a sneak peek at the tutorial that I am hosting next week...

I just fell in love with these witches that Laurie designed last year so I wanted to make sure that I got to use them again this year. I used Standing Witchy Poo and Witchy Poo and Kitty Frame. 

On the back, I used Happy Halloween Sentiment Top/Bottom to finish it off.

These are really easy to make, but make sure to check back next week to see the tutorial! 

I am out of stock of many of the Halloween designs, but I will be getting them in soon.

Oh, by the way, these cupcakes didn't last long - they were eaten as soon as the pictures were taken. I mean, it's too early to use them for a Halloween party - and it would be a shame to let them go to waste, right?! Yum! But I did save the images - I think they will be repurposed for something else!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

~Lacey

Magical Monday Challenge & Stamp and Create Product Spotlight

Hello stamping friends!

I hope you had a lovely weekend. We have a fun-filled one. On Saturday morning we had a birthday party at the beach for one of our friend's little 4 year old daughter. Then Saturday night a friend of ours had a "wine tasting party". Oh my, we had so much fun!! But, man...I "might" have drank a little too much wine! (wink, wink)!! Yesterday we had Life Group/Bible Study, a little stamping, and church Sunday night. 

This week Soccer practice starts and it looks like it's going to be a busy schedule. We haven't gotten the final schedule, but it appears that we will have practice Monday night for Ansley, Tuesday night for Ryan, Wednesday night of Ansley, then Thursday night for Ryan followed by games on saturday morning for Ryan and Saturday afternoon for Ansley!! Lord help me now!! The first game is on Sept 10th (which happens to be Ansley's 9th birthday). I'm already stressed out!! 

Ok, on to stamping...

Today I have a double post for you: Magical Monday Challenge & Stamp and Create Product Spotlight sale.

The Stamp and Create Product Spotlight is: Kenny K stamps on sale this week for 25% off!! Make sure to scroll down for my Kenny K inspiration card. 

It's also the Magical Monday Challenge time...

We have a lovely sketch for you created by the fabulous Heidi...

We are sponsored this week by Crafty Emma with a store voucher...

Remember, you MUST use a "Magical Character" to be entered into the challenge: Dragon, Angel, Mermaid, Fairy, Witch, etc...

Here is my Magical Monday card...

I just got in the new Wild Rose Studio stamps this week so I HAD to ink up one of the new Fergus stamps!! This is Party Fergus which includes the sentiment, too!!

I rotated the sketch to the right so I could add the banner for one of the strips.

The papers are Beach Bum from Fancy Pants. Plus I also used rhinestones, pennant banner die from Whimsy Stamps, and CC Cutter Squiggles by CC Designs.

 

This is also for the following challenge:

Paper Sundaes: Button, Banners, Green, or Twine (must use two - banner and twine used)

Scrappy Frogs: Bling

Sparkles Challenge: One for the Boys

Crafts for Eternity: Flags, Tickets, Tags (must use 1)

A Spoon Full of Sugar: Birthday

Stamp and Create: Critters/Animals

Now here is my Kenny K Spotlight Sale inspiration card...

I used Soho for a fun retro card for a friend. Once again, I used the Pennant Banner Die from Whimsy along with some pearls, wrinkle ribbon, bow easy, and Marjolaine paper from Basic Grey.

More views...

This is also for the:

Make it Monday Challenge

Corrosive Challenges: Girly

Kenny K Challenge: Layers

Flutter by Wednesday: Punches or Dies

Thanks for stopping by!! Happy stamping and shopping!!

~Lacey

Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge - Outdoor Fun

Hello stamping friends!!

I hope you all are having a great week so far. I can't believe the first week of school is almost done! We have a busy weekend planned with some fun activities with friends. So not much relaxing will be happening this weekend. But it's all good. 

Today is a new Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge. I'm your hostess this week and my challenge is:
Outdoor Fun

Let's see your creation using some sort of Outdoor Fun activity.

You don't have to use a Wags 'n Whiskers stamp, but if you do, you will be entered into a 2nd drawing for a free WnW digital stamp.

For my project, I decided to create another scrapbook page (figure I have enough cards and I'm really behind in scrapbooking)... 

I actually made this over the summer, but held onto it for this challenge. This is a layout about our Father's Day trip to the Baseball park!! We have minor league baseball here in Jacksonville. It's much more low-key than a Major League game, but we still had a great time.

The left side... 

The right side... 

The paper is an old Stampin' Up set. I thought the stripes reminded me of a baseball uniform.

A close up of the stamped image...

I used Home Run embossed in black, watercolored with Twinkling H2Os, cut out, and attached with dimensionals.

The sun was cut using a free Silhouette image, cut out in cardstock, then I stitched some embossing thread along the edges. I'll be honest that it was a total fluke that each ray of the sun had the stitching in the same places!! I was sure that I would end up with some odd stitch, but it all worked out!

I created a tag-like journaling on the computer. It lists the purchases of the day resembling one of the those credit card commercials..."tickets, $x, parking $x, Popcorn, $x, Father's Day at the park...Priceless..."

The title was first cut with the silhouette. then I tacked them to a scrap piece of cardstock and ran it through my Fiscars Crimper. I removed the title from the cardstock and attached it to the layout using dimensionals.

I really like how this turned out!! It was a really great day at the ballpark, too!!

Now it's your turn. Let's see your Outdoor Fun Projects!! The challenge is open for 2 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

~Lacey

ABC Christmas Q: Quote

Hello stamping friends!

Well yesterday ended up being a great first day of school - for both the kids and for me! After getting the kids off to school, I did a little work then had a hair appointment. Before my hair appointment, I dropped my Yorkie at the vet for her grooming appointment. I had a few minutes to spare so I ran across the street to Target to pick up a new Stephanie Plum novel (I just started reading the series so I'm only on the 2nd book). Anyway, I grabbed a diet coke in the cafe on the way out and ended up wiping out landing Charlie-Brown-kicking-a-football style flat on my back! I ended up throwing the soda and new book up in the air in the process! Apparently the rug was wet so my shoes got wet while getting my soda which caused me to slip on the shiny-slick tile. I'm fine - nothing hurt except my pride. It probably would make for a funny video contest!! LOL

After my fall, I made it to my appointment to get my hair colored and cut then to a sushi lunch with a friend. Followed by a pedicure. I made it home with 30 minutes to spare before the kids got home. By that time it was time to pick the dog up from the groomers so I picked the kids up at the bus stop, went to pick the dog up, then we all went out for a first-day-of-school-ice-cream!! Yum!!

And to top it all off, I had put a pot roast in the crock pot so dinner was practically already made!! Not a bad day if I say so myself. Of course, I did have to spend time time on the computer working last night since I didn't any work done during the day. 

Ok...enough chit-chat...

I am the host for the new ABC Christmas Challenge. We are now on Q so our challenge is:

Q is for Quote (plus an image)

You must include a Christmas quote or sentiment or your card must be based on a Christmas Quote or Carol.

We have two sponsors this challenge...

 

Robyn's Fetish

 

Fabulous prize of 5 Robyn's Fetish digital products 
This may be 5 digital stamps or 4 digital stamps and 1 paper set.

AND

How to WOW paper crafting techniques from Stampin' with Brenda

Prize from Brenda is a 3 month subscription to the 'How to WOW paper crafting techniques club'

 

For my card, I used a Bible Quote (perfect for Christmas if I might say so)...

I used Herald Angel and Let us Adore Him by High Hopes Rubber Stamps. The sentiment is from an old retired Stampin' Up Set (I think it's called "City of David"). 

The papers are Tis the Season from Kaisercraft along with some Black Ric Rac and Pearls.

More views...

 

Now it's your turn!!

Oh, before you go, make sure to check out the fun new tutorial over at the High Hopes Blog.

And don't forget about my candy here.

~Lacey 

Candy time!!

This candy is now closed. The winner has been posted here.

Hello stamping friends!!

Sorry I've been MIA this past week. I took the kids down to South Florida to visit some friends and family. We had a great time and arrived home safely friday night. We spent the weekend with last minute back-to-school preparations along with church and life group. Yesterday the kids had their meet-and-greet with their new teachers. 

Today is the first day of school!

My "Big" 4th Grader...

My little 1st Grader...

And in true Ryan Spirit...

See how Ansley just tries to block him out?!

To celebrate (and because I don't have a new card to share until tomorrow), how about some candy!!

The Whiff of Joy "An Apple for You"...perfect for going back to school!

To enter, please be a follower of this blog. That's it!! 

Only one entry per person. 

The candy is open through next week.

High Hopes Challenge: Open Challenge

Hello stamping friends!! 

I have to make this quick. I am now in South Florida visiting more family and former neighbors. I'll be back on Friday. 

Today is the new High Hopes Challenge so I quickly threw together this card before packing up and driving down South. I already had the image colored so it wasn't that hard to put a card together. 

The new High Hopes Challenge is: Anything Goes (but you must use a High Hopes stamp).

I made another zig zag card - they only take a few extra seconds to create the base and the rest is just simply adding embellishments...not much extra work, but I think the effect is amazing...

This is Rhonda Stamping Angel (an older High Hopes stamp). The papers are Chapter One from Kaisercraft. 

Lots of pictures...

Now it's your turn...come play along!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!!

~Lacey

Wags 'n Whiskers meets Magical Monday: Banners, Glitter & Sparkle

Hello stamping friends!

The kids and I had a great time tubing on Friday with our church at the Ichetucknee Springs Park. Scott had to work so he couldn't join us. I rented a small inflatable boat as well as an inner-tube. Ansley spent most of the time in the tube and Ryan spent most of the time in the boat with me (and freaking out every time Ansley was a few feet away - he worries a bit)!

Today, the kids and I are driving 5 hours to South Florida to visit more family and friends - one last trip before the kids go back to school on the 16th. We will be home Friday night.

Here are some quick pictures from our tubing trip on Friday...

Ansley in the tube hanging on to the boat.

Ryan in his friend's double tube (notice how he's still holding on to my boat? He would freak out if we weren't attached)!!

Here's a self-portrait of me and Ryan in the boat!! LOL

After tubbing, we went to the natural Spring. This watering hole was FREEZING!! Seriously, I broke out in a rash from the extreme cold. The picture above are some of our friends we went with. The kids are on the rocks but the blue water behind them was very deep - very clear and beautiful, but very deep. 

Here are me and the kids on the rocks.

Since I didn't get my Wags 'n Whiskers card done on Friday, I decided to combine that challenge with the new Magical Monday Challenge.

The Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge is: Sparkly

The Magical Monday Challenge is: Banners & Glitter

The sponsor for the Magical Monday Challenge is Pollycraft Stamps:

Just remember, you MUST use a MAGICAL IMAGE on your design to qualify for the Magical Monday prize. 

Here is my card...another zig zag card...

I used the sweet Lacey Fairy stamp from Wags 'n Whiskers.  The papers are Summer Days from Echo Park. I also used some Rhinestones, pink ric rac ribbon, Pennant Banner die from Whimsy Stamps and Butterfly die from CC Designs. The sentiment was created on the computer.

More views...

 

Now it's your turn!! 

 

Wags 'n Whiskers - Sparkly

It's time for another Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to make a card for this challenge between our trip and getting orders shipped out. 

But I wanted to make sure that I still posted it in case you were looking for the new challenge.

The new challenge is: Sparkly

Go check it out along with the Design Team samples!

Update on Luke (www.prayforluke.com)

I know many of you have prayed for my little friend Luke many time since New Year's Eve. And many have sent him cards of encouragement. 

If you don't know Luke's story, go to Pray for Luke.com to read his story. But a quick summary: On New Year's Eve Luke suffered a 30 minute seizure caused from Spinal Meningitis and encephalitis (swelling on the brain). He was in the hospital for months. He wasn't able to control his right side of his body or move his left side of his body. He couldn't speak, walk, or even sit by himself. But through the healing hands of God (and very hard work at therapy), Luke is doing much better. 

You can read the most recent update here...

http://www.prayforluke.com/journal/2011/8/2/healing-is-my-bread.html

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of seeing Luke walk in person. I was picking his mom up to go out to the movies and dinner (I had been trying to get together with her since we moved back to the area, but our schedules never worked out). Anyway, when I arrived, Luke was outside holding his mom's hand talking and walking. He can't project his voice yet, but very quietly he said "I missed you Ms. Lacey and I miss Ansley and Ryan". He told me he wanted to walk so he held my hand and we walked along the sidewalk. A few minutes later his father came home and I got to see Luke take a few steps to his father for the first time (with no assistance). It was such a wonderful moment and I was so blessed to see it! 

Now you can see Luke walk for yourself in the link above. 

Praise God! Thank you all for your prayers!! God hears every one of them!!

ABC Christmas Challenge: P is for for Present/Packaging/Photo Inspiration

Hello stamping friends!!

We had a wonderful time in Atlanta. Although, I am not ready for another vacation to recover!! We drive home today so I plan on sleeping in tomorrow then have I have a ton of orders to ship out. 

My husband called and told me that the Magnolia stamps arrived!! So they will ship out as soon as we return on Thursday.

Now it's time for the new ABC Christmas Challenge. 

This challenge for the next two week is: P for Presents/Packaging/photo inspiration

We are sponsored this challenge by two sponsors:

For my project, I created a tag using one of the Stamp Fairy images...

This was simple and easy to make. And great to have on hand for a last minute Christmas gift! 

Make sure to check out the rest of the awesome Design Team projects; they have outdone themselves this week with so many lovely gifts.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

~Lacey

Luau Party - High Hopes Challenge: Birthday

Hello stamping friends!

We are still out town in Atlanta, Ga visiting family. We will be driving home tomorrow. 

There's a new tutorial over at the High Hopes Challenge Blog. Kristine did another great job! Make sure to go check it out. 

In the mean time, there is still another week in the current High Hopes Birthday Challenge. Come play along!

For my niece's birthday party, she had a luau themed sleep-over so she asked me to make her party invitations. I pulled out the sweet Leilani from High Hopes to make her invitations...

Now, I had a few days to make 10 invitations while still doing my regular job so I had to go with a simple design and coloring. 

I forgot to take a picture of all of them after I finished them.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

~Lacey

Stamp and Create Challenge: Critters or Animals

Hello stamping friends!! 

I'm still in Atlanta enjoying my vacation visiting my mom and sister. Yesterday we went to church, let the kids play on a waterslide in the back yard for a little while, then we went to the movies. My brother-in-law took the kids to see The Smurfs (they said it was really cute). And my sister and I went to see the last Harry Potter!! :-) What a great movie. It's hard to believe the series is finally over. But it went out with a bang. After the movies we went to my mom's for dinner.

Man and I beat!! 4 LOUD kids can wear you out after a few days. And we still have a few days here. Today we are going to Lake Lanier water park. I'm sure we're going to be VERY tired after the day is over!

Ok, so now it's time for the new Stamp and Create Monthly Challenge.

Chris is our hostess and her challenge is: Critters (Bugs or Animals)

The prize is a $25 Gift Certificate to Stamp and Create.

Here is my card... 

This is the card I made for Ansley's Horse Camp Instructor. She said her favorite color is Orange, so I colored the mane of this gorgeous unicorn orange. This is Mystic from Whimsy Stamps.

I also used some Bubblegum Hills paper from Kaisercraft, Butterflies Die from CC Designs, Pennant Banner Dies from Whimsy Stamps, and Lacey Circle Nestabilities.

Here's Ansley with her instructor. She was such a sweet thing!

Now it's your turn!! Let's see your take on the Critter Challenge. Come join the fun!

This card is also for the following challenges:

Sparkles Forum: One for the Girls

Craft your Days Away: Summertime

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

~Lacey