The Cozy Llama

That's my new pub name, I called it.  Y'know, if I ever expand from my first fictional pub, The Laughing Moose.  Anyway, it is SNOWING right now but school starts in 20 minutes and so far they haven't said anything about canceling it so I'm going to hustle Ryan out the door as fast as I can ; )  My guys might go skiing this weekend if we get some good snow.

I also have snow on my card today, and my titular cozy llama:

I adore the llama and the dachshund in this stamp set, which is no longer available so I'm sorry if you didn't grab it.  Seems like SU! is retiring things far too quickly now if you ask me.  Anyway, I started with the color combination from TGIF Challenges:

I added just a teensy bit of Petal Pink for the llama's nose and ears, does that count as a skin tone?  The sparkle gems are technically Balmy Blue and Bubble Bath, but I thought they coordinated with my card pretty well and so I kept adding more of them.

And then went for the Hand-Stamped Sentiments sketch:

I was a bit puzzled by the skinny tall piece but I think my llama works pretty well!  What brought everything together is the AAA Birthday challenge:

I had this in mind when I went looking through my stamps for something that worked for a winter birthday.  I know who this is going to, too--one of my friends has a birthday two days after mine (and they're both coming up later this month!) so I'll send this cozy llama card to her : )  Everybody else in my house has February birthdays, Ryan wanted to vote me off the island for having a January one.  Silly.  If he votes me off the island, who's going to keep him stocked up with goldfish crackers?

Anyway, it's time to get Ryan out the door and then Daphne and I can enjoy a quiet morning together, though I imagine she's still going to make me take her out for a walk in the snow.  But I have lots of tea to help me thaw out after.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Long Time No See, Bitty Birthday
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate, Highland Heather, Petal Pink
Paper:  Highland Heather, Smoky Slate, Thick Basic White, Highland Heather & Balmy Blue DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  So Many Snowflakes dies, Two-Tone Sparkle Gems, Mini Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Crazy for Cupcakes

Howdy stampy friends!  It's time for another Friday Flashback, and today's featured stamp set is going to come in useful for me since I know so many people with October birthdays.  So let's take a look back at Crazy for Cupcakes!

Also features Priceless and Heard from the Heart

Kind of an interesting layout on this card...I like the colors though.  I think SU! needs more purples in its permanent lineup.  (Well, semi-permanent lineup since they keep changing them every few years!)

Also features Happiest Birthday Wishes

I've got some reverse masks that I made for that giant cupcake so I can use them to sponge color on each individual part of the image.

Also features the cupcake wheel, which I unmounted and put in the case with Crazy for Cupcakes

Oh yes, Crazy for Cupcakes has seen frequent use in baby books!

Also features Bitty Birthday and Sprinkles

Also features Birthday Bakery and Background Basics

Hey, I found an idea I liked so I stuck with it.  And that's it for the flashback part, here's today's brand new card!

I think that this stamp set just begs to be used with bright fun colors, and lucky for me the challenge at Colour Me this week is perfect!

I also used one of the older Nacho challenges that I missed in my unplanned unpack-the-house crafting hiatus:

That's it for me today, peeps.  Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Crazy for Cupcakes, Background Basics
Ink:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Real Red
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (retired)
Accessories:  corner rounder, oval, & scalloped oval punches, Dimensionals