Amy Jo's (that's me!) Birthday Bash & Blog Hop

Good morning my wonderful, beautiful, amazing friends!!!  In case you didn't know, today is my Birthday!!!  I have decided to host my first hop to celebrate today.  The hop is two days long so everyone will have time to go through the entire lineup.  There will not be new projects on the second day (unless noted on individual blogs), just a continuation of the hop so everyone has a chance to enter to win prizes... Prizes, you say?  Oh yes!  I have some wonderful sponsors for this hop!  Out of the kindness of their hearts, these ladies offered to sponsor and help celebrate my birthday!!! 

I am super duper excited for this because, as you all know by now, I live with Fibromyalgia (no, that's not a nickname for my hubby) ;).  LOL  -  I can't celebrate the way most people do, by going out & having drinks & things like I used to because I'm generally in too much pain and/or too tired to do anything.  So, I asked myself, what is it that I can do for my birthday and what would make me feel excited to celebrate it and here you have it! What better way than to spend the day with my friends online & to make new friends too?!!  And here we are!  That is why I entitled this Amy Jo's Birthday Bash and Blog Hop, because to me, it's both!  Just thought I'd mention (for those who don't know this about me) Amy Jo is just a nickname.  Long story as to why I have that particular nickname, but it stuck so now I use it because there are so many Amys out there, but not so many Amy Jos!  Makes it easier to find online. :)  The gals were all asked to create something using any pick from my list of favorites.  For example they could use the colors I love (black, white & pink -- could you tell?) ;), or my favorite theme -- Alice in Wonderland, or my favorite animal (frogs & others, fashion, etc.  This is going to be a very eclectic hop indeed! :0)

We have some fun prizes for this hop so I decided to make it a two day hop so everyone would get the chance to see everything as I mentioned above.  To be entered to win, you must be/become a follower of my blog and leave a comment.  I would also really love it if you would leave comments and become followers of my friends;  however, there are a lot of people in this hop so it's not going to be an actual requirement.  So to give you more incentive to finish out the hop, I will personally be offering a surprise blog candy package to one person who does comment on & follow the other blogs.  I will be choosing winners over the weekend so that gives you plenty of time to leave your comments!

Prize #1 -- $20.00 Gift Certificate to Scraptastical Kreations-- offered by Kristy 

Prize #2 -- Set of Martha Stewart Stamps -- offered by Angela Creative Craftin'

Prize #3 -- Gift Certificate to Creative Kuts -- offered by Cheryl

Prize #4 -- Set of gorgeous handmade corsage pins from Jessica's Craft Shaque -- offered by Jessica

Prize #4

Prize #5 - Crinkle Ribbon from 3 Girl Jam -- offered by Julie

Prize #6 -- Surprise blog candy package from me!

Of course I couldn't have a hop without posting a project so for today I have a birthday card that I created for a client.  His wife (my friend) just loves Hawaii so I thought this would be perfect for her!

Front View (Closed) -- used Recollections cardstock, white gelly pen for details, Cricut Expression (can't remember if this was an SVG or a Cricut cartridge), a Stampin' Up stamp for the greeting & rhinestones from Creative Charms.  The straw is made from a bamboo texture sample.

Closeup of the Flower

Card Open

Thank you all so very much for joining us today and celebrating my birthday!  I am honored that you took the time to stop by!  Now you're off to see what wonderful project Angela made today.

Here is the entire lineup in case you get lost or in case a link is not working.

Amy Jo:  http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com -- that's me
Angela U. http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com -- next stop
Linda Simpson http://lindasimpsoncraftypieceofheaven.blogspot.com
Yolie http://www.justyolie.com
Liz- http://decadeofscrap.blogspot.com
Tina- http://craftyandgreen.blogspot.com
Gill - http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com
Barbara B.  http://barbarab3.blogspot.com
Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
Liz - http://tryin2craft.blogspot.com
Dana-  http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
Jamie - http://scrapqueen141.blogspot.com/
Creative Kuts - http://creativekuts.blogspot.com/
Lisa P - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Suzanne-http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com
Jessica - http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com
Lisa - http://indymermaid.blogspot.com
Liz Mullen http://scrapiliciousLife.blogspot.com
Beckie - http://justbcreativecrazy.blogspot.com
Julie  http://jk-littlebitofbling.blogspot.com
Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com
Anita-  http://anitaandbugs.blogspot.com
Christina - http://flowersribbonsandpearls.blogspot.com
Naomi - www.scrapbookingforbeginners-naomi.blogspot.com
Anna -- http://stampanna.typepad.com
Heather -- http://blessed2cre8.blogspot.com

Upcoming - My first blog hop

Hello my amazing friends!

This is just a reminder that my very first blog hop is coming up on my actual b-day, February 28th and we'll be displaying our projects on the 29th as well so everyone has time to get through the actual hop!  We have some amazing sponsors and I will be giving out some blog candy as well.  This hop is gonna be pretty big so please make a point to stop by and leave comments!  The more blogs you comment on, the better your chance is of winning goodies!  But more than that, I want to tell you, I've already received a few of the cards and projects some of these amazing ladies have made for me for my birthday & I can tell you, there is going to be some wonderful inspiration for this hop!  I am seriously in awe by the gifts I have received so far.  I can't even think about how kind my wonderful blogging friends are to me without tearing up and that's no joke!  Please stop back on Tuesday morning to start the hop here with me!

XO ~ Amy Jo

FCCB Challenge Me Monday - #97 Love is in the Air (Late Post)

Hi Sweet Friends!

Today I have a card to share with you that I created for a previous FCCB challenge.  I had received some sponsored product from K. Andrew Designs and didn't get a chance to post my project for that challenge.  I just felt awful that I didn't get my project done in time and was determined to make it up to Kristal so that she would know how much I appreciate her generosity with us at FCCB.  I'd love it if you would check out our Wednesday Winner's post, where this project is showcased.  That is when we pick our Top 5 out of the many challenge participants posts.  I would highly encourage you to check out the Top 5 gals blogs.  Some of them are very new to blogging and their talent deserves recognition!

This card was made for the theme Love is in the Air and was to include a heart and at least one Cricut cut.  I used two of the stamps I received on this project and I just love how unique they are and how fitting they were for my idea!  I hope you enjoy my card!

 The cute love balloon and the "I dig you" were from K. Andrew Designs.  Aren't they sweet? :0)

I added several little details to the dog, faux stitching, colored pencil, Copics and Zig pens, along with cute little rhinestones for the eyes.  They do sparkle a bit in person, but the photo didn't capture that.

For this project I used my Martha Stewart punch-around-the page (Double Loops) for the first time!  I love how it turned out!  All the paper and cardstock is from my stash.  The large postage stamps were created using Spellbinders embossing dies.  I used a gorgeous sample of twine that I received from Bella Creationz.  Some of you may remember that I named one of their twines and received a full roll and this sample as a gift!  How awesome is that?!!  I digress... The hearts and the puppy were created using the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge.  One of my fellow teammates, Sherrie of Sherrie Scraps with Passion, at FCCB inspired me by using this cut and I just had to try it out!  Please go check out her adorable creation with this same puppy cut.  She is fantastic!  Lastly, I detailed the card with this awesome gold gelly pen from Creative Memories.  Best pens ever!  They are liquidy (in a good way) and don't stop short as normal gelly rollers have a tendency to do.  I LOVE them!!!

Thanks so much for joining me today.  As always, I would love to hear your comments!  Don't forget to scroll down one more post for the current FCCB Challenge Me Monday post.  Would love to have you all play along!

XO ~ Amy Jo

FCCB Challenge Me Monday's - #99 Fancy Trims

Hello to all my wonderful friends,

I am so happy to announce that I am back!  Ok, so I haven't really gone anywhere, but I have been too sick to create and post for quite a while, as most of you have noticed.  Thank you all for your awesome words and prayers.  They really pick me up when I'm having a painful day.

It's another Challenge Me Monday over at FCCB!  The challenge this week is to use trims/ribbons/lace and the like on your project, along with at least one Cricut cut.  My project was made using gorgeous ribbon from my favorite ribbon place, Really Reasonable Ribbon (RRR).  They sponsored some ribbon to some of our design team members.  I was one of the lucky ones to get picked to receive some  -- how awesome is that?  Of course I was thrilled to participate because, as you know, I have mentioned RRR in the past on some of my posts because their products and pricing are the best!  They have a great selection and offer different cutting lengths so you don't have to buy a whole roll!  I love that option because you get to buy a greater variety without spending a lot of money.  Thank you RRR for sponsoring!!!  Did I mention that if you enter the challenge you have a chance to win a prize from them?  Guess you better head over to FCCB to take the challenge!

Alright, enough of my blubbering, let's get on to my project!  For this challenge I made a Thank You card for my hubby's grandma.  I used Simply Charmed and 3 Birds on Parade for this project.  I hope you all like it!  I was in a Spring mood & was so excited to use pretty Spring colors. :0)  My pictures turned out a bit more blue than they actually are.  The main color of the card is purple, not blue.  Notice I used three different types of ribbon (all RRR) on this card.  I wanted to use as much as possible to show my appreciation for the sponsor.  Please click on the pictures to get a better view of all the details.

 The little flag was created by using a pizza slice cut from Simply Charmed!  I then adhered it to the purple ribbon (RRR) using clear Tombow liquid adhesive.  I found the best tape to use for ribbon, in my opinion, is red tape.  I love that stuff!  Don't know the actual name, but it's red and comes in various widths.  You won't have to worry about your ribbon coming off with that!  That's what I used for all of my ribbon on this project.  It's hard to tell in this pic (enlarge please), but I distressed the edges of the cute background paper and some creamy brown ink from ColorBox.  The word "Thanks" is stamped using D.O.T.S. Alphabet (Ribbons and Bows, uppercase).  These little letters have so much detail on them.  I was so excited to use this set for the first time!  I also added little dots of 

(thistle) Stickles.  It's hard to tell from here, but the white flags & wings are a lovely white on white paper (not just plain white) from Stampin' Up.

 Embossed the wing using a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on my Big Shot.  The flowers all have little jewels from EK Success - Sticko.  I used a few pop dots here as well.

I so wish the picture would have turned out the right color!  The green ribbon is so vibrant and it's a beautiful olive green.  The borders around the card are made with a lovely striped ribbon and a satiny double-sided (!) purple/lavender ribbon.  I used the darker purple side to make it really pop.  

There's my project for today!  Thank you all for stopping by.  Please do leave a comment.  I just love reading them!

XO ~ Amy Jo

Hops, etc.

Hi Ladies,

I am scheduled for several hops this weekend that I have to opt out of.  I have been too sick to craft for weeks. I apologize for the inconvenience and I hope you'll still check out other posts on my blog and stay and become a friend/follower. :0)  I'll be back up and posting as soon as I possibly can.

Thanks Friends,
Amy Jo