the.amanda.sewell

For today's sketch card, we're gonna take a trip down memory lane and check out a vintage automobile from You Know You're Gettin' Old Birthday  set by Skipping Stones Design and some vintage Basic Grey paper - sublime!  I thought they were made for each other. I cannot believe how fast time is swooshing by.  I have been told to "enjoy those kids because it will pass so fast, you'll blink and it will be over" and I SO understand what they were saying now.  It really is going by that fast!  I can barely keep up!  That said, it will be no time before this card is really true for me -- *giggles*  I really like how it turned out because I think you could give this to an adult male -- which is (usually) a really hard demographic to design handmade cards for.  YAY! and here is the awesome sketch by Teri Anderson: Stamps :  You Know You're Gettin' Old Birthday (Skipping Stones Design)   Paper :  Not Quite Navy (SU!), Solar White Classi...

Good afternoon and happy Tuesday!  Things have been   I N S A N E  lately at my house, but I did manage to get a few minutes to play with this awesome sketch by our new sketch designer this month Teri Anderson !  She has some awesome sketches that I just know you are gonna LOVE to play with - just wait and see this month (every Tuesday as usual!)  I also incorporated the color challenge colors from Splitcoast (Barely Banana, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa). With my card today, I wanted to play a bit with texture.  I used some woven fabric I had because I thought it worked with the cat tails/bull rushes, whatever ya wanna call 'em!  What do you think?  I also added the extra circle (which holds the sentiment) which was not in the original sketch!  Now it is your turn - GO PLAY with the sketch, and then post it in a gallery (like splitcoaststampers) and use the keywords SSD027 and I will come find it!!  Show us your fabby work -- we want t...

Sorry I am a little late with this post this morning . . . my excuses are 1) I had to feed a baby  2) I am on the west coast, so it is actually only 9 am here, not so early for me and 3) I had leftover pancakes, strawberries, whipped cream and maple syrup in my fridge which caused me to create an overly indulgent breakfast for myself, but darn it was good!  Anyway . . .  Stamps :  Chick Chat (Skipping Stones Design)   Paper :  Red with Dots - (American Crafts- The Goods), Let's Pretend - Tea Party (Imaginisce), Real Red (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah), Intense Yellow (Prism)   Ink :  Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)   Accessories :  Sewing machine (Singer), white thread (Gutermann), blue dotted organdy (Hobby Lobby), 1 1/4 circle punch (SU!), long rectangle scalloped nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), cuttlebug (Provocraft), copic ciao markers (Imagination International Inc.) ***** I cheated varied a little on this sketc...

Happy Tuesday!  Sorry I have been sort of in hiding lately!  4 kids are SO much work -- who knew?  It is also super fun though.  We are all enjoying having Baby M around.  I think Baby E is finally getting used to her, although he still cries a little if I give her a bottle and not him.   I had so much fun creating the card for this weeks sketch.  The sketch really lends itself to any small image you have.  Hope you have fun playing with it and be sure to stop by and visit some of the other design team gals blogs -- *Oh, and if you haven’t signed up for the Skipping Stones Design newsletter now is the time!!!* This Thursday Heather will be sending out the first newsletter to subscribers.  In this newsletter you can find out how to get BRAS Vol. #2 for free and see a sneak peek of the set.   In the future subscribers will receive information on “Secret sales” and  online “coupon codes” that will not be shown on the blog. As wel...

It rained here today, and instead of stamping while both the babies were napping, I just sat staring outside watching the rain.  I just love the sound of the rain.  Everyone else is praying for sunshine right now, but I really enjoyed the change of pace with rain here in the desert today!  Spring is here already! Anyway, I apologize for my lateness in posting!  I can't believe it is Tuesday already again!  YIKES!!!  Today I played with a soon to be released set by Skipping Stones Design called Baby Feet.  As you all know, I have been working on cards to thank some of my friends, and today is another one.  I really like how this one turned out, so I think I might just make a bunch of multiples of it and send them off.  Ooh, and I only cheated on the sketch once *YAY!* -- I used a circle as my main focal point instead of an oval!  Hope Jami will forgive me *lol*  Isn't that gemstones cardstock just so glittery and to die for too! ...

I apologize for my late posting today . . . the countdown to being 40 weeks preggo continues.  This week has been crazy out of control already, and it's only Tuesday!  YIKES!   Friday night Baby E was running a fever and really congested.  We gave him tylenol/motrin, but he would not take in fluids, and I was worried about him, so I slept on he floor beside his bed (stupid thing to do at 39 weeks pregnant).  Anyway, I cried a bit, and when I woke up in the morning, I had the most intense pain in my right ear ever!  Seriously OW!   Saturday, Mic took the baby to the pediatrician, where he was diagnosed with double ear infections, and pneumonia -- he had a breathing treatment there, and an antibiotic shot . . . and his lungs were sounding much more clear when he left.  Late Saturday night his fever broke, much to our relief.   Sunday was an okay day, mostly we just all rested -- an interesting thought occurred to me while I was on th...

I am having so much fun playing with this set -- the tropical nature of the set, lends itself to bright summery fun colors and it has been serving to cheer me up lately!  The card says "Happy Birthday" on the inside (also from the same set, in the same font).  Layout was from this weeks sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers .   Stamps :   Tropical Birthday (Skipping Stones Design)   Paper :  Check Him Out - Just Dreamy (My Minds Eye), Green Polka Dots - Penny Lane (My Minds Eye), Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah), Taken With Teal (SU!)   Ink :  Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)   Accessories:  Copic ciao markers (Imagination International Inc.), teal paper flowers (Prima Marketing, Inc.), Painterly Petals Hydrangeas (Prima Marketing, Inc.), white candy dots (Pebbles Inc.), sewing machine (Singer), white thread (Sulky), 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 circle punch (SU!), red grosgrain ribbon (SU!), Spots & Dots cuttlebug ...

FINALLY -- I managed to get a little bit of time in the stamp office before the baby's due date . . . and this is what I came up with. I colored this image while looking at a tropical sunset picture, and then found colors of paper to match.  It's a little bright, but at the same time, it just works. Speaking of tropical vacations, if you are like me and stuck at home for a little while, pop into Bath & Body Works!  The other day I picked up the most YUMMY smelling tarts (all pineapple-y and fruity goodness) -- they totally will make your house smell glorious and make you smile!!!  Stamps :   Tropical Birthday (Skipping Stones Design)   Paper:  Classic Yellowgreen (Prism), Desert Coral Medium (Prism), Tawny Medium (Prism), Orcid Opulence (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah)   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)   Accessories:  Circle nestabilities (Spellbinders), copic ciao markers and blender (Imagination International ...

I am delayed with posting my card for this sketch . . . seriously being pregnant, appointments, and sick kids have been getting the best of me, but it was such an awesome sketch, I knew I had to make time to play with it! Have you ever tried this stamping "technique" before?  I stamped my images on my designer paper, in a similar color to some of the images already on the paper.  Easy -- and looks SUPERB!  This was such a quick and simple card, and really would adapt to many different sentiments! I cannot believe how fast February has flown by . . . already we are saying thank yous and goodbye to this months guest sketch artist - Belinda Chang (who has the most gorgeous blog ever which you SO need to visit!)  Some good news though -- starting next week the design team will be working with some awesome sketches by Jami Bova (Srgt. Stamper). As always, please go see what the design team has come up with for this sketch (links on the right sidebar un...

Sorry I am so late in getting this post up today . . . but I am sure you will all let me off the hook -- I mean, after all, it is my birthday! I wish I could say the reason is because I slept in, or was finishing some AMAZING novel, but really, it was because I was getting kids ready for school, writing apology notes with a child to teach a lesson to them, reading a book, and getting babies ready for naps, searching frantically for my cord for my camera to upload. BUSY household this morning - but I am so thankful for all the fun I get to have with my cute family! I'm 31 today . . . YUCK! Today's sketch was a fun, happy, easy one for me. I had stampers block all day yesterday and just could not produce ANYTHING, and then this card came to me late last night! I fudged a bit on the bottom, not completely enclosing my sentiment box inside the box with all the shoes, purses, etc, but it just looked happier that way! Hope you like how it turned out. Go try this sketch, I know...

Hello! Happy Tuesday! New month, new sketch designer! This month Skipping Stones has asked Belinda to create the sketches. I hope you will take a minute or two to check out her blog! I am hoping I will have a chance to play with all the fun sketches before my due date arrives. I think I have about a month left to go before Baby M makes her debut! The sketch this week was a stretch for me as a stamper. I am a girl who likes symmetry. I like balance and as hard as I tried, the offset nature of the background kept freaking my eyes out! I also challenged myself first by trying to use different colored inks on the main image. I decided I wanted a fresh spring look. The butterflies and sentiment on this card are from the newly released set Dandelion Dreams . Overall I think my card this week turned out "springy" looking. I hope you will try this sketch and see what you can come up with! Stamps : Dandelion Dreams (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Gemstones - G...

Happy Wednesday!! We've made it halfway through another week! I decided to stamp one more sample with the Skipping Stones Design set " Buns 'n Crunches " -- This time, I made some yummy cookies. Here is the sketch by Amber Hight : and here is my card: Stamps : Buns 'n Crunches (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Tawny Medium (Prism Papers), Baby Blue Medium (Prism Papers), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah), Chocolate Chip (SU!), Blue Mini Dots (Express Yourself...Creatively! - Colorbok) Ink : Rich Cocoa Memento (ME-800 Tsukineko) Accessories : Copic ciao markers (Imagination International Inc.), brown satin ribbon (Michaels Stores Inc.), Corner punch (Paper Shapers - EK Success)

So I just realized that I still have not shown off my stamp studio/office since I painted, etc. SO, I decided that tomorrow (or by the weekend at the very latest *crossing my fingers*), I will take and post some pictures to show you all. (Of course you must promise not to laugh at how messy I am - well, at least loud enough that I will hear you). Happy Tuesday . . . can you believe how fast January has ZOOMED by? This is the last sketch this month already. It has been wonderful having Amy as our sketch designer -- her sketches have ROCKED! This one is no exception! Thanks Amy!!! Be sure to jump over to my side bar and go see what all the DT girls have been up to . . . they have created some AWESOME stuff!!! Also, just released today: Dandelion Dreams (a gorgeous set you NEED) and Well Behaved - Special Edition (which truly was not well-behaved and has some typos -- but you can get it for really, REALLY cheap because of this)! GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE HOT!!! Stamps ...

Such a simple, clean and awesome sketch ! I am such a sucker for sketches!!! I found this sketch over at Card Positioning Systems blog. I was lucky enough to win an awesome prize from them a couple weeks ago (thank you Gina K Designs & Tami for drawing me!), so stay tuned for some fun using that new stamp set in the coming weeks . . . This week I have been playing with Skipping Stones "Healing Wings" acrylic stamp set! As soon as I got to see it, I knew it was a must have for me! I love the butterflies, and I adore all the beautiful sentiments in the set! And now, I am headed to go stalk my FedEx guy . . . he is supposed to be bringing me my new Stor in Style file drawers (my birthday present) and I am anxious to get busy on putting them together and getting my office/stamp studio all cleaned up! See you tomorrow for the Skipping Stones Design Tuesday sketch! Stamps : Healing Wings (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Forever Family - Gladys Pauline (Dream Street ...

It's that time again kids -- are you ready? Time to pick up your favorite Skipping Stones Design stamp set and get stamping with the weekly sketch challenge. The layout today is simple, classic, and nice. Thank you to Amy Sheffer for the sketches this month. My card follows the sketch pretty well, but I did add a sentiment to the bottom right corner (please don't shoot me for kinda cheating). I was going to just put a bow, but in the end, the sentiment made more sense there, and fit better! Hope you will take a few minutes and go check out all the awesome creations that the DT has made with this sketch . . . they are located *new* on my sidebar so you can do this easily! Also, if you upload your creation to a gallery, please remember to use keywords "SSD08" so we can see what you made! Stamps : Buns & Crunches (Skipping Stones Design) , Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Bashful Blue (SU!), Barely Banana (SU!), Solar White classic crest (Neenah),...

ZOOM, SWOOSH, time is just flying by. I can't believe it is Tuesday again already. Due date day will be here before you know it . . . it is crazy! I need to start getting more organized . . . less stamping, more preparing . . . like packing a suitcase could be useful right? As if any baby of mine would come early *crosses fingers and toes that she won't* Here is today's sketch (thanks to Amy Scheffer): http://pickledpaperdesigns.blogspot.com/ Today I have a special treat for you -- a sneaky peek at a new set available soon-ish from Skipping Stones Design . It is called Buns & Crunches and it is HILARIOUS! I just love it! Hope you find some time to play along with us with this awesome sketch . . . happy stampin'! This card features the BEST SENTIMENT IN A STAMP SET EVER: "Who wants buns of steel?" and for inside: "When you can have buns of cinnamon" Stamps : Buns & Crunches (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Chocolate Brown (HobbyLobby...

As promised, here is another card from the Bra set (Skipping Stones Design). I am kind of stuck on the black and white with a color POP theme with these . . . Does that ever happen to you as a stamper -- you find something is just working well for you, so you go with it? Inside of card reads: They help you hold it together even when things are falling apart." Stamps : Funny Bras - Volume 1 (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Black Tie Optional - Kitsch'n Floral (Imaginisce), Textured Black (The Paper Studio - Hobby Lobby), Bashful Blue (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah) Ink : Bashful Blue Classic (SU!), Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko) Accessories: Rhinestones (KaiserScrapbook - Papertrey Ink), Black with white dot organdy ribbon (Dots, Dashes & Checks - Michaels Stores Inc.), Scalloped and Plain circle nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), copic ciao markers (Imagination International Inc.), sewing machine (Singer), black thread (Sulky)

CHALLENGES GALORE to make this card --I am a sucker for sketches, and fell in love with this simple and clean and easy one over at Card Positioning Systems blog . (CPS148) I just knew I had to try it. Then the color challenge (CC252) intrigued me -- strange colors (Bermuda Bay (or taken with teal), handsome hunter, and certainly celery with a *pop* of pink somewhere). Oh and can't forget Monday there was an awesome Technique Lovers Challenge on SCS (TLC254 - it was quilting on a card), so I threw that in too . . . and this is the crazy finished project I came up with! I like it. What do you think???? Stamps : Funny Bras - Volume 1 (Skipping Stones Design) Paper : Taken With Teal (SU!), Handsome Hunter (SU!), Certainly Celery (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah), Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper (SU!), Graceful Circles - Penny Lane (My Minds Eye) Ink : Onyx Black Versafine Accessories : 3D Glue Dots (Therm o Web), sewing machine (Singer), white thread (Sulky), Pale pink...

Hey guys! Happy 2010! I was so not ready for vacation to be done when I had to send my kids back to school yesterday! *sad face* We had such a fantastic break! Guess what though? Lots of fun stuff for you today! First, HAPPY 8th ANNIVERSARY TO MY CUTE, CHARMING, and WONDERFUL husband! I am seriously the luckiest woman! He is so good to me and makes me laugh and smile! We've grown so much together in 8 years and being my opposite he has taught me a lot and for that I will forever be grateful! *tears* I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by. I am excited for the years to come. ********** Enough sappy Manda, introducing the Skipping Stones Design Blop Hop . If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning. You should have arrived here from Debbie Fischer's blog: http://debbiedee.blogspot.com/ Along the way, the Skipping Stones Design Team (aka the Stamp Tramps) will have blog candy for you to enter. As an added bonus, th...

I have a thing for cocoa! M and I like to sit together late at night after the kids are in bed and drink cocoa and just relax. Here is a way to share a love for cocoa, and a recipe on how to make your own. All over the jar are rub ons (I got at Michaels last year) and they just add a little shimmer to the jar. From familyfun.com : BEST HOT COCOA MIX Ingredients 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer 1/8 teaspoon salt Instructions Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them until they are evenly blended. Store the mix in a tightly covered container at room temperature until you're ready to package it. Makes about 4 cups of mix. Spoon 3-4 teaspoons full into a mug of warm water, mix and top with whipped cream! Enjoy! I covered the tag with fabric (one side paper) that matched the lid cover. The big bow on the back side holds the tag in place. Such an easy proje...