*just for you* gift bag

My daughter, Livi, and I ran across the cutest little shop the other day, so we took a few minutes to stop and take a peek inside. Livi found a bracelet that she wanted to buy for her grandma, and since grandma always does such nice things for us, I figured it was our turn to do something nice for grandma. The sales lady tucked the bracelet inside a little draw-string bag, but knowing how much my mom loves chickens and how perfect these three little chicks are since there's one little girl chick and two little boy chicks... and grandma has 3 little grandbaby chicks... one girl and two boys... I just had to make a special little gift bag with these 3 little chicks to hold our little surprise for grandma. I love these inexpensive kraft bags I found at WalMart. They're simple to decorate and perfect for gift-giving.

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Images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio. Real red cardstock, linen thread, and white craft ink by Stampin' Up. Yellow polka dot paper by ProvoCraft. Green polka dot paper by Anna Griffin. Fiskars mini scalloped scissors. Grass deco scissors from Michaels. Yellow citrus ColorBox chalk ink. VersaMagic tea leaves fluid chalk ink. RibbonTrends gingham ribbon. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers. Kraft bag from WalMart.

*baby chick*

Did you see Lexi's baby card using the new *Hen and Chicks* set? It's so cute, and Lexi's right... the adorable little chicks are PERFECT for baby cards! I know you're dying to get your hands on a set, so I'm going to make it easy for ya. Just click here, and you can have one it's way to your house in no time!

Every so often, my camera gives me fits, and I have a terrible time getting a good picture. It took me way longer to photograph this card than it did to make it! I must have taken a hundred pictures, and after all those tries, you'd think I would have gotten at least one good one! Maybe it's time for a new camera!
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Hen and Chicks set by The Saltbox Studio. A Muse notecard, papers, and polka dot alphabet. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers and clear spica glitter pen. Yellow Citrus ColorBox fluid chalk ink. Pretty Petunia VersaMagic chalk ink. Fiskars mini scalloped scissors. RibbonTrends gingham ribbon. Pop Dots.

*thank you* - AP inspiration challenge

The next Designer's Challenge is up over at the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog. This week's challenge is hosted by the fun and fabulous Jenn Shurkus. It's an inspiration challenge, and she chose this Vera Bradley print to spark your creativity. Be sure to visit the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog for all the details... and remember, even if you registered last year, you have to register again this year to be eligible to win the awesome prizes!

So on with my challenge card. I've used this layout before to create window scenes, but it's amazing how different it looks with different colors and different stamps. For some reason, this card reminds me of a Tweetie cartoon. The little bird looks nothing like Tweetie, and I'm not even sure if Granny had flowered wallpaper in her house! I just remember Tweetie sitting so innocently in her birdcage, and that mean old cat, Sylvester, up to no good, forever trying to sneak by Granny in hopes of eating Tweetie for lunch!

I'm having lots of fun playing along with the A*Muse*A*Palooza challenges. I hope you find a little time this week to play along yourself. Who knows... you could be the next winner!
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Notecard, images, sentiment, and ribbon by A Muse. Black and real red cardstock, white craft ink, slot punch, and sanding block by Stampin' Up. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. VersaMagic red magic chalk ink. Copic markers and spica glitter pens. Pop Dots.

*mother hen gone polka dots!!!* - SNEAK PEEK!

I hope you're up for one more polka dotted hen! Here's another card I made using the oh-so-cute Hens and Chicks set. Today Mama Hen and her little chick are soaking up some sunshine out on the farm... pecking at some corn and doing whatever it is that chickens do all day.

I'm excited to be the *special guest* over at Elzybells NA. If you've got an extra minute or two, hop on over to take a peek at my featured card.
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Images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio. A Muse notecard, polka dotted papers, and ribbon. Stampin' Up black cardstock and sanding block. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers. Pop Dots.

*a little note* - AP Color Combo Challenge

I'm excited to finally have found a few minutes today to play along with the first A*Muse*A*Palooza design challenge hosted by Geeta. It's a color challenge using cabana blue, purple passion, and chocolate kitchen. I would have never thought to put those colors together, but I am so doin' a little happy dance because I love it! Did you see how I stamped the "a" from the "a little note" sentiment onto the tulip? It made the sentiment a bit more interesting and made me do the happy dance again!

I also made a few discoveries:

1. The *sky blue light* Prismacolor marker is a perfect match to A Muse's cabana blue notecard.

2. Copic's *lilac* is a perfect match to A Muse's purple passion notecard.

I hope you find some time to play along too... and be sure to put on your dancin' shoes!

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Notecard, papers, images, and sentiment by A Muse. Brilliance pearlescent chocolate pigment ink. Copic and Prismacolor markers. Pop Dots. Ribbon unknown, although I think it might be American Crafts.

*mother hen* - another SNEAK PEEK!

I'm back bright and early with another peek of the new Hen and Chicks set soon to be released by The Saltbox Studio. I seem to have a hard time coloring the hen without adding polka dots, and you can bet I'd be adding polka dots to that chick if I thought I could pull it off! Oh well... I'm quite happy with a solid yellow chick, and I've come to the realization that you can't have polka dotted everything!
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Images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio. Red gingham paper by Crafty Secrets. Notecard and other papers by A Muse. Brilliance graphite black and pearlescent chocolate pigment ink. Copic markers and spica glitter pens. Stampin' Up sanding block. Orange gingham ribbon by RibbonTrends.

*farm chick* - SNEAK PEEK!

Here's a sneak peek of the new Hen and Chicks set by The Saltbox Studio scheduled for release on June 10th. I guess you could say I have a thing for chickens. They remind me of my grandma's house out in the country and the rooster she called Chick Chick. I don't know how many times that mean old bird cornered us kids out in the backyard... or how many times we had to call Grandma to come save us! They also remind me of my mom's kitchen which is decorated with her never-ending collection of hens and roosters. As a kid I couldn't figure out for the life of me why anyone would want to collect chickens of all things, but it's funny how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and now I have a beloved collection of chickens in my kitchen too!

When I pulled out the red gingham paper and the old advertisement, I couldn't help but think of a restaurant here in the Midwest called The Iowa Machine Shed. It's decorated with old tractors and such, and the waitors all wear straw hats and bib overalls with red bandanas hanging out of their back pockets. The tables are covered with red checkered tablecloths, and the walls are full of old tin advertisements and antique farming tools.

I really wanted this card to have a country flair. I wanted it to take me back to my childhood visits to grandma's house and to all those chickens in my mom's kitchen... and I think I nailed it! (((wink)))

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Images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio. Notecard, ivory cardstock, and yellow patterned paper by A Muse. Red gingham paper and old advertisement by Crafty Secrets. Black cardstock, punches, and sanding block by Stampin' Up. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers, spica glitter pens, and multiliner pen. Pop dots. Ribbon by JoAnn's Craft Essentials.