Been In a Rut

That's where I've been lately, is stuck in a rut. I've made many 'things' this week, and that's where they have stayed. A 'thing'. I've been trying to kick start myself again, and decided to make a card for The Alley Way Stamps challenge. I was introduced to Alison, the owner of The Alley Way Stamps through her Free Digi stamps blog. She has now turned her artwork into stamps, and I have only one set right now, Kitchen Gadgets, which I used on this card. More are on my wish list though!! I love the cute and whimsical designs she creates, and her images are a blast to paper piece. The challenge this time around is to use the photo below as inspiration. I took some of the colors, and of course the banner to make my card. I even stamped one of the smiley faces, and hearts onto my banner, which my friend Emily has a great tip for creating one here. Instead of a punch(which I don't have) I used a star image from my Plantin' Schoolbook Cricut cartridge to make mine. Worked perfectly! I used some Cosmo Cricket papers from the Salt Air collection to match the colors in the photo, and used the rolling pin and sentiment from the Kitchen Gadgets set. My border is cut from a MFT die. I am pleased with this card(finally), and am happy to have made something worth showing!! :) So thank you Ali, for allowing me to kick start myself again!!
Here is the inspiration photo:

And on another happy note: My dear blogging friend Cheryl, has sent me this sweet bag she made, from clear across the pond in the UK! I was so happy when she said that she wanted to send this to me! I am so amazed with her paper crafts, and am always excited to read her posts, and see her amazing work! So, a big thank you Cheryl for brightening my year! I love the bag!!