Well, Retro Rubber #103 sure has a sweet look back planned for us this week with their "ribbons of love" theme - let's go!
I actually had a hard time choosing a retro "love" set - I've kept a few that really "stole my heart," lol.  I finally settles on PS. I Love You, a beauty from 2012, that has just the cutest heart made out of tiny hearts, and the best sentiments to go with.  Another awesome aspect of this set was how pretty much the whole set had one punch or another for just about every stamp in it - ah, those were the days!  I'm a little shocked at how complete my suite of supporting products for this set still is - must have been true love for sure!
PS. I Love You Stamp Set (retired 202); Whisper White & Calypso Coral CS; Real Red, Flirty Flamingo & Calypso Coral Inks; Happy Heart EF (retired); Full Heart & Modern Label Punches (both retired); Calypso Coral 1/8" Organdy Ribbon (SO retired!); Pink Enamel Hearts (Be Mine Valentine Paper Pumpkin); #RR103.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

We're excited to have a new mix-up challenge for you this week at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #394!
Today I FINALLY get to use my adorable Hey Love set for the image I even got it for - the ape!  He's just so hunky and sweet, and as usual, my fave image is almost one of the last ones I use, lol.  I colored him in with some Blends Makers, and pulled out some pinks and hearts, so I could do BOTH sides of our mix-up - yay, me!  I pulled out some Real Red DSP to do my background, but left the Smoky Slate CS it's over fairly plain - the better to leave room for rhinestones, hee hee.
So, will YOU mix it up with us this week?  I hope so - see you at the challenge!
Hey Love Stamp Set; Real Red DSP; Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Blushing Bride & Powder Pink CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Smoky Slate, Petal Pink & Flirty Flamingo Blends Markers; Banner Triple & Heart to Heart (retired) Punches; Stitched Shapes Framelits; Basic Jewel Rhinestones; #TSOT394.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Back to Basics #20 is pulling out another oldie but goodie - salt technique!
It's so funny, my main experience with salt techniques is actually with silk painting - such cool effects come from the distortion of color you get when you add it to a wet area - and it works just as well on paper, too!  I decided to go for a bright sunshine-y card today - I see so much snow in the news elsewhere in the country, maybe we could all use a bit of Arizona out there!  I started with a panel of watercolor paper, so I could get it nice and water-saturated.  I sprinkled on some Yellow Brusho Crystals, along with a few touches of Orange, and then quick hit it with some coarse salt.  I went and had a snack while I waited for it to dry, lol.  I'm happy with the result!  I finished with a "dazzling" sentiment and some cool Mango shades - bring on the rays!
Pocketful of Sunshine Stamp Set; Watercolor, Whisper White, Basic Black & Mango Melody CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Yellow & Orange Brusho Crystals; Salt; Layering Ovals & Pocket Framelits; Black Faceted Dots; #BBB020.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

There's a fabulous sketch for us this week at Inspire Create #35!  So glad I have a stack of new stamps to break in!
I sorted through my shrinking pile of new goodies (but another box is on the way already, lol) and the one I just really wanted to get inky was Beach Happy.  Such a fun builder st!  There's all kinds of two-step combos, from coloring in the umbrella and beach chair, to a two part palm tree that I just couldn't work in today, sigh...  I made up for it with my beach tote and floppy hat, though, lol.  The Seaside EF made a perfect background for me, and I finished with some sunny Glimmer Dots, too.  I added this fun sentiment from the Well Said set, and Happy Retirement is on the inside - don't we all want to live it up for retirement??
Beach Happy & Well Said Stamp Sets; Coastal Cabana, Whisper White & Bermuda Bay CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Coastal Cabana, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody & Granny Apple Green Inks; Stitched Shapes Framelits; Seaside EF; Crushed Curry Glimmer Dots; #ICC35.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Very fun - SU Only #215 has a birthday theme going this week for us, and our new Spring catty has SO much to choose from!
It felt like a cupcake kind of day for a birthday to me today, so out came the super cute Hello Cupcake from this year's Sale-A-Bration catty!  I really went to town with the frosting, lol, and had fun masking off this big sugar pile!  I kept everything all one layer, too, not my usual style, but I love how it came it out - though I'm pretty sure this much sugar would be give me heart failure, lol...
Hello Cupcake Stamp Set; Whisper White CS; Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Gorgeous Grape, Crumb Cake & Early Espresso Inks; #SUP215.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

It must be February, because the pink challenges are here!  We're even getting into it at this week's Fab Friday #156!
I can not tell a lie - this one was a doozy for me!  I'm pink-challenged on the best of days, and throwing in the Grapefruit Grove just made it even more crazy-pants!  It actually took me a few tries to come up with a card - I started over from scratch TWICE!  I finally went very minimalist - just a splash of color on this romantic bird, with a bit of background to set him off - very much like spotlighting!  ANYWAY, I can't wait to see what you all come up with - show me how it's done!
Hey Love Stamp Set; Grapefruit Grove, Lovely Lipstick & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Lovely Lipstick, Grapefruit Grove & Blushing Bride Stamp-n-Write Markers; Layering Circles Framelits; Lovely Lipstick Glimmer Dots; #FabFri156.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Ooo, The Library Challenge #25 has an awesome cover for us this week - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!
This one was a hard one for me.  I would have loved to do a pretty oriental dragon, but the only dragons I have are pretty cartoony - which is NOT very GWADT!  So I started thinking about my fave character from this book, Lisbet Salandar.  A total butt-kicker!  I dug out my old Favorite Thoughts set from 2010, which has a few sassy lady quotes in it, and matched it up with the glamour girl from Beautiful You.  It ended up being fairly sparse - Lisbet's character was so no frills, I couldn't think of anything to add.  Anyway, I'm thinking of the closing sequence where Lisbet dresses up and steals all the bad guy's money - such a perfect end to a creep of a guy, lol.  Go, Lisbet.  And never behave.
Favorite Thoughts (retired, 2010) and Beautiful You Stamp Sets; Whisper White & Merry Merlot CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Merry Merlot Inks; #TLC25.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

AAA #132 has a fun challenge to encourage the clean and simple style - "up to one third."  What a neat idea - contain the card elements to one third of the card, so that there's two-thirds of lovely "white" space around it!  And if we can fit in masking, too, so much the better!
As I thought about the one-third and masking combo, I envisioned brayering a band of color on the card front, and I pretty quickly landed on a desert sunset for my inspiration.  Our Flowering Desert stamp set is my current all-time fave, I have to say.  I love how we can build any cacti we want out of all the little pieces, AND that we have a nice big saguaro, too - perfect!  So I masked off my central third, and went to town with sunset colors.  I fussy cut my cactus, and did my sentiment in bold black right on the colored band.  I added a few tiny faceted dots in black, too, and then I had to sit on my hands to stop there, lol.  I love extra details a little too much, I think!
Flowering Desert Stamp Set; Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody & Cajun Craze Ink; Faceted Dots; #AAA132.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Check out this fun tiled sketch we have for you at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #393!
So, even though we didn't SAY the squares could be any shape, I'm just going to act like we did, lol - gotta go off trail sometimes, right?  I decided I wanted to do 8 of something, and I realized that the pretty X and O heart in our sorely missed Takeout Treats would be perfect - there's even a sweet sentiment to go with!  And of course, the Takeout Thinlits have the heart shape included, along with that cute little 3D banner - I love it when a plan comes together!
So, what will YOU create??  Can't wait to check it out over at the challenge!
Takeout Treats Stamp Set (retired); Whisper White & Basic Black CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay & Gorgeous Grape Inks; Takeout Thinlits; #TSOT393.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

We have another fun sketch this week from In{k}spire Me #384 - check out that bold center column!
Lucky for me, I have a little stack of new stamps to play with, and one of them is the suite for Needle & Thread!  There's paper, stamps, framelits, embellies, whew - I love it when there's lots of toys, lol...  I kept this one pretty calm color-wise, there are some bright patterns in the papers, but I did try out the piercing piece that came in the framelits - doesn't that make a pretty detail??  I love the realistic effect of the stamps, too - time to start a stitching project, maybe, lol.
Needle & Thread Stamp Set; Needlepoint Nook DSP; Whisper White & Pear Pizzazz CS; Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry, Highland Heather & Berry Burst Inks; Needlepoint Elements Framelits; #IM384.