Squeal!

A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to win the absolutely adorable Party Posse stamp set in a Paper Smooches challenge. {Squeal!} is exactly what I did when I first spotted that too-cute-for-words hamster in this set! It looks just like the little hamster Japanese erasers that my kids adore--my son has a golden one that he named Nibbles and is as cute as can be :).


I couldn't resist using this sweet hamster in a Valentine card for a dear friend. She is a huge animal lover, and her family is currently hosting a cat and several guinea pigs and hamsters. I'm pretty sure she will {squeal!} over this little cutie, too! (In case you can't tell from my photo, there is a heart-shaped window in the front of the card--the hamster is stamped on the card's inside and viewed through the window. The "squeal" sentiments are stamped along the edge of the card inside--the right edge of the card front was cut away so the sentiments show when the card is closed.) The little hearts come from the Paper Smooches Vegtastic set.


I was inspired by the inspiration photo from the current Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge. I tried to capture the colors with my choice of kraft cardstock and Palette Boudoir Blush ink, the fabric texture in the hamster's face paper-pieced from a "woven" print, and the stitches on the felt heart with my machine stitching around the perimeter of the card as well as around the heart-shaped window.


I'm also playing in the Love is in the Air Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Challenge and the Clean and Simple Paper Piecing Challenge at CAS-ual Fridays--my little hamster was paper-pieced from a stamped woven print and some older patterned paper from the BasicGrey Nook & Pantry collection.

I hope your weekend was a fantastic one! Ours was good, but super busy. Friday night was my son's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. Not only did he build a car for the race, so did my husband and daughter. Plenty of exciting racing action for this family! They all had very respectable finishes, and my son brought home the second place trophy for his den of third-grade Bear Cub Scouts. The rest of the weekend was spent on a home plumbing project, getting my Valentines ready to go postal, errands, and DT assignments. I did get to catch a movie with a friend Saturday night, which was just what I needed! Luckily, the snow that had been predicted for us completely fizzled, but it sure was cold on Sunday!

I hope there's a little something in your day today that makes you {squeal!} with delight!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily