Sending You Prayers

Hello friends!  I’m back today with another card I just made.  I’m still struggling with a lack of motivation for stamping so this time around I CASE’d this card from one of my talented stamping friends… Lisa Henke!

I combined two challenges on my card.  The first one is a challenge I just discovered, the Word Art Wednesday challenge.  Their challenge #217 is Anything Goes, as long as your creation is family-friendly and includes words of encouragement.  And I used the colors for Color Throwdown #375, as well.  Here’s my card…



The gray tag was die-cut with a retired die from My Favorite Things, and I added two flags of patterned paper also from MFT.  The “sending you prayers” sentiment is from the Hero Arts Exclusive Prayers Stamps and Dies set from Simon Says Stamp, and the large Grid Background stamp is also from Simon Says.  On the tag, I added a white Double Garland Confetti Cuts banner from Reverse Confetti.  I embellished with some plaid ribbon (NO idea where I got that ribbon, but it’s perfect for the Throwdown colors!) and some golden yellow sequins.

Sending this card to my aunt in Florida who had a pacemaker placed today!

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Color Throwdown #319

Hey friends, I'm back again today with another Color Throwdown creation!  Wanda is our hostess this week with this darling photo... I'd LOVE to have one of those hats in MY size!  I hope you like these colors as much as I do, and will join us this week!

Here's my card...

I just had to buy the beautiful Pretty Peonies stamp set from Wplus9 Design Studio after seeing the amazing watercolor work that Dawn was doing with these stamps!  Her tutorials are so helpful, and her creations knock my socks off!  I don't think I came even close to her level with my card, but it sure was fun to try.  I used Ranger Distress Markers to color directly onto the stamps, then stamped on Ranger Watercolor paper.  I wanted to add some silver splatters, and wasn't happy with how that worked out but it is what it is.  The BG Romantic Script background is from My Favorite Things, and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and check out my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration...

Barbara Anders 
Broni Holcombe 
Joan Ervin 
Jodi Collins 
Lori Tecler 
Monika Davis 
Vickie Zimmer 
Wanda Cullen 
Petra Swart, November Guest Designer
Chat Wszelaki, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks for stopping by today, and for your comments!  It always makes my day brighter!

Color Throwdown #316

Hello friends!  It's time once again for the Color Throwdown, and Monika is our hostess this week!  You could do a lot with these colors... make a Fall card, Halloween, masculine... anything goes!  Check it out...

Well, I cheated a little.  My image was already colored, AND I had already paired it up with the blue card stock in the background because I thought it matched the blue in the quilt quite well.  And when I sat down to make my card for this week, well... I just wasn't feeling very inspired.  So I just decided to use what was already started.  So here's my card...

I needed a birthday card for a friend this week, and this was just perfect.  I colored this Pumpkins & Patchwork image from Whipper Snapper Designs with my Copic markers, and stamped a Hero Arts sentiment at the bottom.  On the blue card stock background I added a gingham pattern with a background stamp.

Be sure to stop over at the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And be sure to visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration...

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Tara Godfrey, October Guest Designer   
Sue Rose, Guest Star Stamper


Thanks so much for stopping by today!





Some cards to share…

Hello friends!  Since October is about to come to a close, I figured I better hurry up and do something about the fact that it’s Pastor Appreciation Month!  So I spent my Sunday evening making eight loaves of zucchini bread from a giant zucchini my neighbor gave me, and will drop two loaves off at my church today on my way to an eye doctor appointment.  And here are the cards I made to go with the loaves…

I made these in the style of a postcard with the writing on the back, so they’re not too fussy.  I die-cut the Big Thanks from Simon Says Stamp in Tangy Orange card stock, then layered it over Kraft card stock that was stamped with the BG Fine Check background stamp from My Favorite Things.  This navy/kraft/tangerine/yellow color combo was from the Colour Q challenge a few weeks ago.  I loved the combo, but just didn’t get around to trying it until now.  These cards also work for the current “Get Crafty” challenge on the Simon Says Wednesday challenge blog. 
Another loaf of zucchini bread will go to our Sunday School teacher who is also a good family friend.  She recently had a minor procedure done, and is still having to take life a little easier for a few more days, so hopefully a card and bread will cheer her up!

I’ve had a print-out of this fabulous card made by Arielle Gordon.  I’ve been trying my darndest to CASE her fantastic design, but without success.  When I finally gave up trying to CASE completely, and just let my own version come to life, then I was happy!  This card uses the very pretty Painted Flowers set from Altenew, a Hero Arts sentiment, and the BG Sheet Music background stamp from MFT.
I hope your Monday is off to a great start, and you’re looking forward to a great week!  Thank you for stopping by!

Remembering 2013 Recipe Swap

Linda has some fun lined up for us for the first Catered Crop Recipe Swap of the year… a chance to review all of our favorites from last year.
Honestly, 2013 wasn’t the greatest year for me.  My stamping suffered greatly from a lot of stress I was dealing with at my former job, and I even took the month of May off from stamping completely.  My Mom was also diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time early in the year (and is thankfully winning the battle!) and then my Dad unexpectedly passed away on December 4th.  Don’t get me wrong…. I have many, many blessings in my life that I’m very grateful for, but all in all I’m glad to see the end of 2013.  It was a difficult one. 
I didn’t really think I’d find a lot of favorites on my blog, but I did end up with a good selection.  Rather than choose one favorite from each month I just decided to pick my faves and leave it at that.  :)  So here ya’ go… my 2013 favorites.
From January, these Valentine tea lights made with stamps and Die-Namics from My Favorite Things…

The newly-learned chalkboard technique was something I loved to do during the past year, and this Sweetness of Friendship card with stamps from Flourishes is also one of my favorites…

In February, I used some newly acquired stamps and dies from My Favorite Things on this card that was for my sweet friend Gretchen.  She was in need of a pick-me-up and this card was just the ticket….

And some more new stamps and dies from MFT were used to create this card…

In April I had the distinction of being the Guest Designer for My Favorite Things’ new release and this Spring-themed banner I made was definitely a favorite…

In June, I was inspired by a card from Lisa Johnson and created my own version here with stamps from Kitchen Sink Stamps.  And my BFF Barbara Anders shared a bounty of sequins with me around this time, which turned into another favorite for me in 2013…

In June I rejoined the design team at Kitchen Sink Stamps just in time for a great new release, and this card showing some paradise was a favorite…

The annual Dare to Get Dirty challenges over at Splitcoaststampers are always a bunch of fun, and this card using some new stamps from Wplus9 Designs I created for one of the challenges was pure joy to create…

Any Color Throwdown challenge with shades of blue makes me want to pull my hair out, as I just don’t work well with blue, but I was pleasantly surprised when this card came together using a variety of stamps from MFT, Hero Arts and Impression Obsession.  This card was sent to my Aunt Linda in Ft. Wayne who also unfortunately passed away this past year.  She was my Dad’s youngest sister, and my Dad died four weeks to the day after she did.  :(

Sunflowers have always been a favorite for me, so this card was a shoe-in for a 2013 favorite, using Kitchen Sink Stamps…

This past year was when I discovered A Day for Daisies digital stamps, and got lucky enough to join the design team!  This sweet card for Color Throwdown #264 was definitely a favorite…

In October, there was another great new release from Kitchen Sink Stamps, and this wonderful Multi-Step Bicycle stamp set was an idea that I came up with, so any card made with this fantastic bike image is a favorite of mine…

Every now and then, a card comes together and you just think “oh, YEAH!” because you’re so happy with it, know what I mean?  This card using a digi from A Day for Daisies was one of those happy moments…

And finally, another new company I discovered this past year was Reverse Confetti.  I just fell in love with this coffee stamp set they released, and just loved this card I created with that set…

So, there you have it… my favorites from 2013.  If you’d like to show off your favorites too, stop over at the Catered Crop blog and leave a link so we can see yours, too!
Happy weekend, and thank you for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #254

It’s Color Throwdown time again, and this week Barbara is our hostess and I’m angry with her for making me use Brilliant Blue!  LOL  I just don’t DO blue!  But in the end, I’m glad she forced me because I’m pretty durn pleased with how my card turned out!  :) 

I was completely inspired by this beautiful card made by my dear friend LeAnne Pugliese for this creation, and just used a variety of stamps including Hero Arts, Impression Obsession, and My Favorite Things in the layout.  I added a sentiment tag, button and some enamel dots for embellishments.

Be sure to stop over at the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and some exciting news…. we have two new designers joining our team!  Be sure to come on over and welcome them with us, and our new August Guest Designer, too!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Melody Rupple
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Kendra Wietstock, August Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by today… happy stamping!

Happy Anniversary

Today’s Retro Sketch #69 was perfect for this anniversary card I needed to make.  The couple that teaches our Sunday School class will celebrate their 41st anniversary on Monday, so I wanted to get a card made to take to church tomorrow.

Here’s my card using an old Hero Arts stamp called Butterfly Fields.  I inked the top half of the stamp with Tumbled Glass distress ink, inked the bottom with Shabby Shutters, than added just a little bit of Peeled Paint at the very bottom.  Then I spritzed the stamp with some water before stamping on white cardstock.  I distressed the edges, sponged Antique Linen ink on all the pieces for a little shabbiness and embellished with some sheer ribbon and enamel dots.  The anniversary sentiment is from a My Time Made Easy stamp set, and the jumbo scallop border is from the Open Simply Scallops Trio Die-Namics.  I think this sketch is definitely a keeper!
Thanks for stopping by!  Happy stamping!

One of My Favorite Peeps

I needed some cards to send to a few friends, so I pulled out a paper pad from My Mind’s Eye that hasn’t been shown a lot of love and made these two cards…

I used the sketch #111 from My Favorite Things for this week for the first card, using my new Pure Innocence “One of My Favorite Peeps” stamp set.  I paper-pieced the dress with some of the designer paper, and used a few Die-Namics in the design including the Simply Scallops Medium border and a flag from the Accent It – Flags and Tags.
For the second card…

I pulled out this good ol’ Pooside Chicken stamp from Whipper Snapper and added a sentiment from Hero Arts.  Hopefully this warm up my friend since we’re in the midst of our usual cold Ohio winter!  There’s a few MFT Die-Namics on this card too, including the Small Scallop Border and a Fishtail Flags STAX for the sentiment.
Stay tuned for the Color Throwdown tomorrow!  My card will make you wanna’ shout Yeehaw!  :)

A Last Dare...

I have cards to share with you today for one final Dare to Get Dirty challenge from over at Splitcoaststampers.  Today I created these cards for Bev Rousch's challenge.  What's the challenge?  Well, you'll have to hop over to the Fan Club forum at SCS to see that (and you have to be a Fan Club member, too!)  What's the Fan Club?  It's a way to show your support for the website that brings you SO much information everyday for our wonderful hobby!  Head on over to the Fan Club page at SCS for more information, and find out how you can join!

For this challenge, I created my own of the trendy Washi tape you see everywhere.  Earlier this year, my sweet friend and Color Throwdown sister Broni tried this technique on one of her own cards after seeing a tutorial on Nicole Heady's blog, and I was so intrigued!  I've been wanting to try this on my own for months, and finally got around to it for these two cards.

This first card uses the Washi tape strips I created with a variety of background stamps, and a sentiment from The Great Outdoors stamp set from My Favorite Things.  I embellished this one very simply with a Die-Namics Butterfly die-cut and some clear rhinestones.

This second card uses the same strips I created and a sentiment from Verses Rubber Stamps ("Begin Each Day" #BB0441-E) along with some die-cut clouds.

So please, come on over to SCS and join us for the fun challenges this week!  Oh, and THERE ARE PRIZES!  FABULOUS prizes to be had!  Check out all the details HERE!

Happy stamping!

Color Throwdown #125

The weeks just keep flyin' by and here we are ready for another Color Throwdown challenge! Today Barbara is our hostess, and she chose these pretty, soft colors for us to work with. It's such a lovely, pastel pallette, don't you think?

The sentiment stamp I am using here is "A Special Prayer" from Verses Rubber Stamps. But first I stamped an old Hero Arts stamp on the paper using Tattered Rose distress ink. I stamped the sentiment in Forest Moss distress ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. After cutting with the Labels 4 Nestabilities, I sponged Antique Linen ink around the edges before removing the paper from the die. The designer paper I used is Capella by Basic Grey.
I also used the Rolled Rose Die-Namics for the flower, and the Little Open Scallop Strip, both from My Favorite Things.

Stop at the Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and then stop and see what my Throwdown sisters have to inspire you!

Barbara Anders

Danielle Kennedy

Kristin Bueter

Laura Pryor

Cathy Rulli

LeAnne Pugliese

Broni Holcombe

Lori Tecler, January Guest Designer

I hope to see YOU playing along with us! Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Friday Challenge #6

(Please see my Stamp Simply challenge card for today here!)

For the Fabulous Friday challenge this week on the i {heart} copics design team, we're using templates from Pixel Geek Designs at ScrapOrchard. There are all kinds of cute box templates that you can download, as well as many other fun things in their store! I chose to use this cute little take-out box for my project today, pairing it with the Chinese Doll stamp set from Hero Arts.

The paper I used on my little box is the new Kioshi paper from Basic Grey that Kate has in stock at i {heart} papers! You'd best order some quickly.... I have a feeling it will sell fast!
Here are the Copic colors I used, all available at i {heart} papers...
Stop by the challenge thread at Paper Craft Planet for all the challenge details, and to see what the other designers have created with their ScrapOrchard templates! Then set aside some time to play along! We'd love to see what you create!

Stamps: Chinese Dolls (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: kraft (Bazzill), white (Neenah), designer paper (Kioshi by Basic Grey)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities tag (Spellbinders), wire, brads (craft supply).

Stamp Simply #129 - Punched Borders

It's Friday again, and by the time some of you are reading this I will be on my way to Indiana to see my sweet friend Joan Fricker and teach some Copic classes at her store! I've been looking forward to this for so long and can't believe it's finally here! I'm excited about having a great time with my Mom and Joan and getting to meet her customers!

In the meantime, it's time for another Stamp Simply challenge and this week, because Sharon was busy, I got to choose the challenge! I started thinking about how much I love using border punches lately, so I decided that's what today's challenge would be.... border punches! If you don't have any border punches, you can also create the semblance of a punched border using Nestabilities, as Sharon has shown here. You can also use a corner rounder punch to create a scalloped border, as shown here.

I decided to use this new cuckoo clock stamp from Hero Arts for my card, because there are scalloped borders on the clock too, to mimic my punched border. This is such a fun set of stamps, and has been pretty popular since I got it in stock at the store! My designer papers are the new Garden Variety papers from Cosmo Cricket.

Here are my Copic colors used....
Stop by Sharon's blog for her fabulous sample and all the challenge details, and if you play along you'll find Mr. Linky on her blog to link your creation!

We have a new member of our team too, as Deb Neerman has been invited to step in and fill Julie Koerber's position, so we thrilled to have her as a permanent member of the team! And we have a new guest designer for the month of March. She is Marlene Bender! Stop by her blog, Heart Spring and see her creation for today! And then see what the rest of the girls have created by visiting their blogs...

Barbara Anders

Janine Orchard

Jenny Gropp

AJ Otto

Barb Schram

Jennifer Buck

Deb Saaranen

I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Stamps: Cuckoo (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: Real Red, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Cosmo Cricket)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Bo Bunny), Threading Water border punch (Fiskars).

Color Throwdown #81

Welcome to another Wednesday and another Color Throwdown! We're up to challenge #81 this week, and Kristin is our hostess! She's picked a very classic color combo that I'm sure everyone will LOVE!

I took the chance to use another new set of Flourishes stamps for my card today! This is one of Flourishes brand new releases, From the Garden. This also qualifies for the Timeless Tuesday challenge on the Flourishes blog, and I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #62 for the layout.
Here are the Copic colors I used.
The Throwdown team was so happy to have Debi Southard as our guest designer this past month! Stop by her blog and check out her completely adorable card today! And see what my Throwdown sisters have created at their blogs, too!

Kristin Bueter

LeAnne Pugliese

Broni Holcombe

Cathy Indelicato

Barbara Anders

Danielle Kennedy (sitting out this week with the flu)

Stop by the Throwdown blog for all the details, and play along with us this week! We love seeing your creations! Remember if you upload to any online galleries, use keyword CTD81, and link your creation back on the Throwdown blog using the Inlinkz.

Stay tuned for my All That Scraps Wednesday challenge card later in the day! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: From the Garden (Flourishes)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Bo Bunny)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder (ProvoCraft), pearls (Hero Arts), ribbon (Creative Impressions).