Monday, Monday...Bah, Da, Bah Bah Da Da....

  Monday, Monday.....!  How many of your remember that wonderful oldie by The Mama's and The Papa's?  I know I do and for some reason...it's not stuck in my head, so I thought it would be a fun idea for my post title.  This Monday is a nice day for me and the day we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, here in the USA.  It's also turning out to be a really awesome day for me and I have a few new projects to share.

   I started my day by going to CAS Card class, which I love and I ended up created today's card based on the wonderful video that Kristina shared.  It also worked out that it would be the perfect card to submit to this week's CAS Challenge over and The Outlawz and I encourage every one in the CAS Class to hop on over to this fun challenge group and take part in all the challenges.  The group is OPEN to all, and they offer a new challenge every day of the week.  Sunday is always CAS day, making it perfect for all of you in the class.   We also found out today in class that one of the lucky students is going to win a brand new Vagabond machine, thanks to the generosity of Simon Say Stamps!   WOWeeee.....what a fantastic prize and would I ever be thrilled to win that.   Good Luck to everyone!!

   In class we were inspired to find a fun to to make our own embellishments and created the cute little center flower you see on my card.  It's also a little window card and although Kristina used a MS circle cutter to create her window, I don't own one, so I simply used a circle Spellbinder die.   My flower papers are an oldie but goodie from Stampin' Up called Cottage Wall, once of my all time favorite sets.  When this set went on clearance, I ended up ordering several sets, which is why I still have some left...Love IT!!

   My second card was created also based somewhat on the idea of this card, as I created another window card and also kept with a very Clean and Simple Design.  It's also the card I am submitting to this week's Greeting Card Challenge, also hosted over at The Outlawz.  Again, this is another of the fun challenges the gals have every week and this week's challenge was all about 'nothing', so to speak.  We were challenge to create a card with only one Embellishment and a Sentiment.  Not as ALL as easy as it sound.

  

    Luckily, I have so many wonderful dies from Memory Box that I knew right away that my one embellishment was going to be a die cut and I picked my latest favorite, which is the LaRue Heart. It's also perfect for Valentine's cards or LOVE cards, which is what I created today.   I searched through my Hero Arts Sentiment Stamps and found the perfect Sentiment that tied into my Love and Heart Theme.   I also lined the inside of my card in clear acetate to make it rally look ever more like a window!

   I hope I have now inspired you to play long and make some Clean and Simple Cards.  If you love this type of challenge, I'd also like to invite you to another challenge group, called Crafting By Designs.  This is a nice small group where everyone also loves to create.  CBD also offers a variety of challenges, tutorials and is a nice friendly group.  If you feel a bit intimated by larger groups, this might be the perfect place for you and they are currently open for enrollment!   Come on over and play at either group, both are fabulous and full of inspiration.

  Oh,  and I am very happy and excited to be planning a Spring Trip to go down to the Baltimore area to meet up with a bunch of my online craft friends.   A bunch of the gals have always wanted to get together, meet up for a girl's weekend and that's exactly what we plan to do.   Plans are for a fun-filled craft weekend in May and I'm so excited to be flying down for that weekend.  WOOHOO!  I'm hoping every one I know will plan to come, the more the merrier and I think it will be a fantastic time.    If you would like to join us, please email me for more details.   I know there are tentative plans for some classes and we have some very admired designers who will be attending.   More details will follow, but I can't wait!  Yippee!   I will be flying out of Boston, if you are local to my area and want to go, we can plan our flights together!!   It'll be a blast!!