Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge 181

I don't think I was meant to do this challenge!  I wasn't happy with my first card so I started over.  I was just about through with this one when I realized that I glued the pieces on the main card base upside down!  I didn't have time to make a third so I pulled out some waxed dental floss, got it off and adhered it the right way!

I used Cajun Craze for the base, Midnight Muse and Brown Sugar C'ordinations.  I used a hexagon embossing folder and sanded it.  I don't have the chevron punch but I plan on purchasing that soon!  I ended up using a corner punch instead.I used the Gorgeous Grunge set for the coffee spills and the birthday sentiment is from Express Yourself.   This is one of my new sets.  I love sentiment stamps!  I also used one of my favorite products, a candy dot in Cajun Craze.

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving!  My hubby and I cook for our two boys, my daughter-in-law and three year old granddaughter.  It's very laid back and relaxing!  I will be baking a bunch of pies for a gathering we are hosting on Friday for my husband's family.  It will be fun too, but a lot of work.  I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving!

PPA180

I made this the other night for Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge #180.  I took extra time taking photos and emailed them to myself from my iPad.  Got to my destination and I had no emails!  I was hacked the other day so it's been a frustrating week.  I have no idea why the photos won't email.  I tried my husband's email and my gmail after I got home and they didn't work.  So.....out comes the point and shoot and now I have lousy photos again!  Oh well. 

I used Smoky Slate and Pool Party for cardstock and Basic Gray and Island Indigo inks.  I love this designer paper called Winter Frost from the Holiday Catalog.  I used Endless Wishes for the sentiment.  Love this set!  I found these chipboard snowflakes at Michael's on clearance last year.  I wish I had the dies from Stampin' Up! but you can't get it all at once!  I stamped with Versamark and used some glittery embossing powder.  I wish you could see how sparkly it is.  I almost forgot to mention my favorite product - candy dots!  Thanks for looking.

Are you ready to shop?  Stampin' Up! has a fabulous sale starting tomorrow, November 20, and it runs to December 2.  There are lots of discounts on great products!  There are 24-hour doorbuster tomorrow only. Be sure to check it out tomorrow!

PPA Color Challenge PPA179

I went outside my comfort zone for Pals Paper Arts color challenge. When I saw the colors, I almost skipped this one. I was given a gentle push by Windy in the PPA group. Thanks, Windy! I knew I had Crumb Cake and Rich Razzleberry but I'm not usually a yellow personl. I searched for some Crushed Curry and finally found a piece. Then I realized I bought the chevron ribbon too! I actually enjoyed it! I need to do this more often. I used Morning Meadow for stamps.

I have been having a blast using all of my new Stampin' Up! sets I ordered! Last night I chose the Six-Sided Sampler to play with. I also used Bitty Banners dies and stamp set for the sentiment. I used Island Indigo (my new favorite), Crumb Cake and Basic Gray. I also used the hexagon punch and a non Stampin' Up! edge punch and embossing folder. I absolutely love the Candy Dots too! They're a great embellishment and they don't add any bulk. Thanks for looking! P.s. please excuse the blurry photo. I took a quick one with my iPad before I left this morning.

Here are the weekly specials! Hurry before they're gone. I think I need the blossom punch and the garden dies! Please visit my online store to order: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/michellequinno/

Pals paper Arts Color Challenge #175

I decided to try Pals Paper Arts color challenge this week. All I could come up with was a sympathy card. I have a hard time with these colors! I probably could have come up with a masculine card if I had the right stamps. I was trying to use as much Stampin' Up as I could. I used Fabulous Florets from SU and the sentiment is from Hero Arts. I'm looking forward to updating my stash as a new Stampin'Up demonstrator! p.s. Still working on the side bar and the SU blog!

Cure NF with Jack

I've been away from posting for so long now. I just couldn't keep up. I have something really important to post about though. A friend's son has a horrible disorder called Neurofibromatosis (NF). It is a genetic disorder of the nervous system which causes tumors to form on the nerves anywhere in the body at any time. I ask that you read Jack's story and donate, share, say a prayer, or whatever you can do for this handsome little man. It's so not fair for him and others to go through it. I can't imagine what he and his family have been through. Thank you for looking at his page. http://curenfwithjack.com/

Candy to win...

Go and check out this candy on Nikki's blog. Good luck!

It's all in the bag...

(Blogger is being stupid so I will have to try and correct this later - OK, I give up. It will have to stay. It won't show the spaces I've put in.) Just got back from a vacation in Maine. We had the most relaxing time and perfect weather! It was sunny and in the 80s the whole time and not a cloud in the sky. My only complaint is that the mosquitos were brutal!! We practically went through a whole can of Deep Woods Off! Here's our view. I have much better pictures on my iPad!

Before we left, I made this card for my son's girlfriend with a bag stamp from Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps and gave it to her at the cottage. It had a gift card in the little bag. She loves owls so she thought it was cute.

I also made this bridal shower card. I got a thank you from my cousin and it sounded like she enjoyed the card more than the gift! LOL I used ribbon for her tissue paper so it was a little more dressy. I glued the bag to a card because I wanted to add a sentiment inside. It's cute when it is cut out completely too. My biggest issue is the sides seem to lift a little because it's a little thick where the tissue is. If you have any suggestions as to a good adhesive, please let me know. I tried ATG and that white Scor Tape.

Tough cards...

I've had a few difficult cards to make lately and thought I would share one. This was for my niece's high school graduation. I usually use school colors and when I looked online for this one, they were black and white. Boring! So I decided to use paper with black and other colors in it. Tonight I made a retirement card for a woman and a few nights ago for a man. The next one up is a bridal shower. Thanks for looking! If I can remember who this image came from, I will update tomorrow. The paper is Basic Grey Out of Print and the ribbon is SU. The congratulations is a Hero Arts stamp but I'm not sure who the Class of 2012 is from. Update: The image is from Anji's Antics. She has some terrific freebie images to check out!

Card for my little brother

Made a quick card for my youngest brother who is six years younger than me. He's always been my little brother even though he's 46. I used a Stamping Boutique image. They have some cute guy digis. I bought this one last year for Father's Day and decided to use it for my brother's birthday. I used some old papers (yes, I'm really using up my stash!) and some SU cs. Here are the Candi Dots that I love too. Thanks for looking. (excuse the bad photo). Heading out to a SU open house with my friend, Pia.

Softpencil Blog Hop

Welcome to the Softpencil Studios blog hop!
If you've come here from Carole's blog, then you're on the right track. If not, then start at the Softpencil Blog so that you don't miss a thing.

Elizabeth at Softpencil Studios is celebrating her anniversary and a few of us have been asked to join in on the celebration. I was a bit nervous but decided to join in. Here is my card using the adorable Lilly who is available here. I had fun coloring her.

























It's a big celebration, so there will be several prizes you can win!

There will be a winner for each blog hop (three winners) who´ll receive a gift certificate of $15.

All the players who participate by leaving their comments on each blog of 1, 2 or the 3 blog hops will receive a free digi stamp of their choice. You will have to write Elizabeth at elizabethpujalka@hotmail.com to let her know that you've done that.

There will be a mystery blog during the hop with an extra chance of winning a digi stamp.

Now on to the hop. Next up is Debra.

Here is the full list in case you get lost!

1- Annette Bowes http://mypommiepurplepatch.blogspot.com
2- April Lower http://allaboutthelowers.blogspot.com
3- Stephanie Serrano http://www.stephaniesstampinspot.blogspot.com
4- Julie Masse http://stampinwithjulie.blogspot.com
5- Farida Rone http://frcreaciones.blogspot.com
6- Monica Torres http://scrapandomeconlosrecuerdo.blogspot.com
7- Melissa Craig http://stampitscrapitshareit.blogspot.com
8- Carole Rinear Chesser http://fibrejunky.blogspot.com
9- Michelle Quinno http://shellsq.blogspot.com(You are here)
10- Debra Miller www.creamcityangels.blogspot.com
11- Heather D http://stampingdesignsbyheather.blogspot.com
12- Pauline Guttrey http://paulineguttrey.blogspot.com
13- Cyndi Kim http://strwberizncream-cyndi.blogspot.com
14- Mervi http://leikkaan.blogspot.com
15- Lola http://littlecardmaker.blogspot.com
16- Jessica Shelton http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com
17- Monica Flores www.monicascreativemadness.com

Upcoming Blog Hop...

Hi Everyone, it's been a while. I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be participating in a blog hop soon (April 15-20) for Softpencil Studios. There are actually three hops starting on April 10 and going through the 25th. Check back for details! There will be chances to win some adorable free images from Softpencil.

Another freebie...

Boy, I'm not doing so well with blogging lately. I really just can't seem to find the time!! I still have not played with the My Memories software either. I need to take a couple of days off to play! But then again, I would end up babysitting for a lot of it. I love spending time with my C, but I also miss my play time.

Here is another freebie for you:

Hopefully you will get to play more than I do!

Bad blogger....

So much for my fresh start this year on blogging! I've been so busy, it's ridiculous. My stamp room needs dusting at this point. I got home a little early today and thought I'd have extra time until my hubby asked if I wanted to go to Best Buy to pick up his order. UGH....well, at least he paid me back with dinner at Fudruckers! Love that place.

I promised a freebie, so I will post again without a finished lo. I hope to catch up soon.

Here is your freebie from My Memories.com. Just click on their name to download. Isn't it cute?!! I can't wait to use it!



























I'm excited about taking a trip with the girls on Saturday to a not so lss (about an hour away). I've never been, but my stamping friends love this place so I can't wait. It'll be fun just getting together.

Winner of My Memories Giveaway...

Well, I couldn't get the random integer without paying (or at least I don't' think I could! LOL) so I had Cadence pull out a number and she chose.....







Carla!!!

Carla, please send me your friend's email and I will get the code to her. Congrats and thanks for playing!

Don't forget, if you missed playing, you can get a $10 discount on the software and another $10 for a purchase on the My Memories site. Just use my code: STMMMS41834 at checkout!

Stay tuned...I will have another freebie to post on Wednesday!

Yikes, I forgot!!

So sorry! I completely forgot to pick a winner yesterday! I will try the random integer thingy tonight and if that doesn't work for me, I will have my granddaughter reach in and pull a name out of a basket.

Stay tuned...

A freebie for you...

My rotten cold is still kicking my butt so I haven't had time to play with this freebie. I hope you can use it and post a lo with it! To get it, just click here to go to My Memories Suite and download. I will try to post a layout using this soon.








p.s. Final date for the software giveaway below is Sunday, January 8th. If you don't win, don't forget you can get a $10 discount using this code at checkout: STMMMS41834

My Memories giveaway...

It's been a while since I've blogged and I thought I'd start up again with the new year.

I'm really excited to tell you about this digi software for scrapbooking and cardmaking. It's called My Memories Suite. I've never tried digi scrapping before but this software made it really easy! Here is my first page. My granddaughter had her picture taken just before Christmas so I used that to start.


























I'm giving away a copy of the software to one lucky person who comments! What I need you to do is visit My Memories.com, pick your favorite paper pack and leave a comment here. Please leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

Also, if you don't win and you'd like to purchase the My Memories Suite, you can get a $10 discount by using my code at checkout: STMMMS41834

You can also find My Memories Suite at:

Blog- http://www.mymemoriesblog.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite