Hello Tulip

When I saw the beautiful photo of tulips this week on the Inspired by all the Little Things challenge blog, I knew instantly that I wanted to create a card for the challenge!  Here’s the inspiration photo…

My beautiful Multi-Step Tulip Garden stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps has been severely neglected, so I got it out and got it inky!  This set has always been one of my favorites, as tulips have always been a favorite for me, too.  Here’s my card…

I stamped my tulip using MFT dye inks, in order from darkest to lightest, Brick Red, Persimmon, Coral Crush and Peach Bellini.  And stamped the leaves in Jellybean Green (darkest) Jellybean Green (stamped off once for the medium layer) and Sour Apple (lightest).  I die-cut the piece after stamping using the Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle STAX Die-Namics, then masked off the scallops and sponged some Antique Linen ink around the inside perimeter.  On the background piece, I stamped  a linen background using Whip Cream ink so it’s just very subtle.  Then I added a strip of plaid paper from the Subtle Plaid 6x6 paper pack.  I used the Hand Lettered Hello die from Wplus9 Design for the sentiment, die-cut from Blu Raspberry card stock.  I cut two layers, glued them together, then applied a layer of Glossy Accents for dimenion.  I finished the card with a few sequins (plus a LOT more that I spilled as I was putting them away!)

THAT was a fun mess to clean up!  LOL

Thanks for stopping by today!

CrAzY for Back-to-School

Hello friends!  It’s time for another challenge with the Crazy 4 Challenges team.  Jessie is our August hostess, and this week she’s challenging you to create something with a back-to-school theme.  Maybe a thank you note for a teacher, or a scrapbook page with your child’s first day of school, or a set of note cards to tuck into your child’s lunch box!

Well, in my house there is no more back-to-school time as my daughters are past that age.  So I don’t really have any need for any teacher gifts, etc.  But I did create this thank you note with a school-like theme that I can keep in my stash of cards…

I’ve always just loved this Pretty Patches:  Apple stamp set and dies from Wplus9 Design Studio… I’ve had it in my stash for forever.  And it must even be retired because I can’t find it anywhere for sale.  But regardless, I still love it!  I paired the apple with some patterned papers, and used the current Freshly Made Sketch #249 for my layout.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie
Alexis Crossland-Smith, Guest Designer
Danielle Vincent, Guest Designer

Well, if you have little ones headed back to school in the coming days, I pray they’ll have a great school year!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Birthday Cards

I have two cousins with birthdays this week… one who is very special because she shares a birthday with my daughter Kelsey!  And since these days I’m still feeling a lack of stamping motivation, I chose to CASE a few designs for my cards this past weekend.

This first card was a CASE of this fantastic card by Debby Hughes…

I pretty much copied the flowers just as Debby used them on her card, because why mess with perfection, amiright?  These flowers are from the Wplus9 Design Studio stamp set for Simon Says Stamp called Many Thanks, and the sentiment comes from the Simon Says Sending and Wishing stamp set.  I added a few ink splatters to the card, and embellished with some sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

My second card was inspired by this awesome card made by Laura Bassen…



On this card, I used the Grid Background stamp from Simon Says Stamp embossed with white embossing powder, then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers  to watercolor the squares, putting down just a small bit of color on one side of the square, then drawing the color out with an aqua brush.  The sentiment combines the Best Hugs stamp set, and the Scripty Big Hugs die.  I added a bundle of silver thread, and some more sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.  The colors on my card were inspired by the color challenge this week at My Favorite Things.

AND I’m happy to be joining in again this month with Kathy Racoosin and The Daily Marker 30-Day Coloring Challenge!  And since I used my Zig markers for the above card, I’ve got day 1 in the bag!

Have a great week… thanks for stopping by!

Favorites for 2015

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and are ready to begin a new year!

I don't know if this is the "trendy" thing to do anymore, but I've always loved looking back through the past year and picking out my favorite cards from each month.  I found this year to be a little easier to choose from, probably because I just don't find myself doing much stamping anymore.  Not sure why, but if you see my mojo, please tell it to come back home!

But anyway, here are my favorites from 2015!  I hope you like them, too!

In January, I created this card with the To Thine Own Shelf stamp set from Simon Says Stamp...

 

 

For February, without a doubt my favorite card(s) were these beauties made with the Delightful Dahlias from Papertrey Ink...

 

 

 

In March, I just couldn't resist this cute card using Whale of a Time from The Cat's Pajamas.  (This stamp set may no longer be available, as I can't seem to find it on the TCP website.)

 

 

 

In April, there was no other choice but this card made with my beloved Kitchen Sink Stamps!  There is always going to be a really soft spot in my heart for KSS as it was the very first design team I was ever asked to join, and Maria (the owner) could not be a sweeter person!  Plus, the bicycle I used on this card comes from the Multi-Step Bicycle stamp set that I had a hand in designing!

 

 

 

I CASE'd a card from the fabulous Betsy Veldman back in May, and created this card using the Text Block Birthday die from Papertrey Ink.  The sweet co-worker I gave it to still has it on the bulletin board in her office!

 

 

 

The Birdie Brown You Gnome Me stamp set from My Favorite Things was definitely a good purchase this past year, and helped me make this fun card back in June...

 

 

 

SO much of my stamping budget got spent at Simon Says Stamp this year!  (DON'T tell my husband!)  I couldn't resist the fun leaf-shapes in this new One With Nature stamp set, used on this card I made back in July...

 

 

 

My word, did Tim Holtz ever hit a home run with the release of those Crazy Birds this past year, or what?  I resisted the urge to buy them for a month or two, but I finally gave in.  I paired one of those Crazy Birds with this seriously fabulous Seriously die from Lil' Inker Designs for this card that was sent to my youngest as she began her first days in college back in August!

 

 

 

This little giraffe from Wplus9 Design Party Animal stamp set was also one I couldn't resist this past year!  And since my oldest daughter loves giraffes, this card was perfect for her 23rd birthday back in September!

 

 

 

In October, I tried my hand at some no-line coloring with my Copics.  Have to say, I love how it looks and there are a few people out there who do a spectacular job with it, but I'll just stick to coloring within the lines!  But here's a favorite using another darling Birdie Brown stamp set, the Harvest Mouse...

 



 











In November, I CASE'd this card from Lindsay Amhrein using the Smile Circle die from Simon Says Stamp...

 

 

 

And finally, without a doubt my favorite card from December was this one using the Merry & Bright stamp set and matching Confetti Cuts die from Reverse Confetti.

 

 



 

I hope you've enjoyed this stroll through the past year with me!  Thank you for stopping by, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!





Color Throwdown #371

Hello friends!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Wanda is our hostess with these elegant colors…

The stripes in these packages spoke to me, as well as the colors so I grabbed my Wide Stripes background stamp from Simon Says Stamp and got busy…

The stripes were stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink, but just weren’t black enough so I used a metal ruler and went over them with my black Copic marker.  Then I used the Hand Lettered Hello die from Wplus9 Design with metallic gold card stock, and stamped the sentiment from the Hand Lettered Hello stamp set.  I embellished with some gold sequins to complete my simple design.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and greet our December Guest Designer, the fabulous Torico!  And please visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…. 

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Torico, December Guest Designer

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

Party Like an Animal

The current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge is this photo of some great sunglasses, and I really wanted to play along! 

I started looking through my stamps, thinking “what can I use… what can I use….”  I noticed that there’s a pair of sunglasses in this I Love Donuts stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  Now, I’m not sure why those sunglasses are in that set… am I missing a pun there or something?  LOL  Instead, I started thinking about who or what I could put those sunglasses on!  And here’s what I came up with!

Squeee!  Tell me the truth… is he not CUTE?  This sweet little giraffe is from the Party Animal stamp set (and matching die) from Wplus9 Design Studio.  I had actually colored him weeks ago, which made this card come together pretty quickly.  I stamped the sunglasses in Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed them with clear embossing powder and cut them out.  The background was watercolored with Cracked Pistachio and Tumbled Glass distress inks, and I flicked on some additional ink with Peacock Feathers and Gathered Twigs.  I added a starry background using some white embossing paste and the Stargaze stencil from My Favorite Things.  The black and white strip at the bottom is from the Dots & Stripes Neutral paper pack from MFT, and I embellished with some Sparkling Clear Mix sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I hope you’re having a great week!  Thank you for visiting me today!

Color Throwdown #355

 

Hello friends!  We have another Color Throwdown challenge for you, and today Barbara is our hostess.  She’s going to cool down our summer temps with these shades of blue and gray…

Like Vickie’s purple a few weeks ago, I accused Bar of trying to torture me because I just don’t feel like blue and I get along very well.  But once I remembered that I had this sweet little elephant already colored, my card came together quite well!

This sweet guy is from the Wplus9 Design “Unforgettable” stamp set, and I used the matching die to cut out little Dumbo.  He’s colored with Copics and mounted to a Sno Cone card stock circle.  On the Lush Lagoon card stock strip that was cut with the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics, I stamped a sentiment from the set and heat embossed.  The background was stamped with the BG Simply Circles background in Versamark ink then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  And on the Steel Blue card stock at the bottom I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background in Steel Grey hybrid ink.  (Card stock, dies and background stamps are all from My Favorite Things.)  I used the sketch again from CAS(E) this Sketch #135 for the layout.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer
Jenny Lane, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks for visiting!

Such a Peach

Well, my nice 4-day weekend has come to an end.  It went fast.  :(  I don’t want to go back to work!  Oh well, that’s life!  I did manage to get a lot done and had some good stamping time, too!

Here’s one card I made that combines the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, the current Colour Q challenge, and the current CAS(E) This Sketch….

I had used my Zig Clean Color markers last weekend when I was stamping with friends to color these peaches from Wplus9 Design's Punny Produce: Peaches stamp set.  I used some white embossing paste on the background with the Harlequin stencil from My Favorite Things, and added a few background stamps from MFT including the BG Fine Chevron, BG Diagonal Stripes, and the Darling Dots stamp set. My Favorite Things Die-Namics used include the Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX, the Stitched Scallop Edges, and Blueprints 13.

Happy Monday, and thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #349

Hello friends!  It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time for another Color Throwdown challenge!  Sweet Jodi is our hostess today, and she's got a color combo for you to try that's high on my list of favorites!  I love me some aqua and orange together, for sure!  Check out her inspiration photo below...

For my card, I pulled out some squeeee-inducing new stamps from Simon Says Stamp!  This is the new Wplus9-inspired Many Thanks stamp set, and I took a lot of inspiration for my card from this beauty by Shari Carroll at Simon Says...

​I stamped the flowers with Tumbled Glass and Dried Marigold distress inks, and the leaves with Shabby Shutters on Ranger watercolor card stock.  Then I used a water brush and just swirled some water around on the flowers to give them a watery, blurred look.  I also splattered my card stock with some of the same color inks from a Mini-Mister along with a spritz of Perfect Pearls.  The Simon Says "thanks" die was cut three times with Kraft card stock and layered for dimension, then I cut again with Berrylicious card stock, and I added some sparkle to that Berrylicious layer with a clear Wink of Stella pen.  I added a scattering of sequins, copied from Shari's beautiful card (because I stink at sequin placement!)  Peeking out on the left side, I added a Kraft card stock panel that was stamped with Black Licorice hybrid ink using the BG On the Diagonal background stamp.​

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Lee Erwee, Guest Star Stamper

I hope you’ll join us this week for the Throwdown!  Thanks for stopping by!

You’re Pear-fect

I have long followed the Tag You’re It Challenge, always intending to play along but it just always seems like the time gets away from me.  Today though, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to join in.  So here’s my card for challenge #23…

I water colored these sweet pears yesterday for #thedailymarker30day2 challenge, then set to work using them on this card last night.  The Tag You’re It Challenge shows a tag with an apple on it, so I stuck with the fruit theme and used these pears from Wplus9 Design Studio.  This set is called Punny Produce: Pears.  I water colored with a combination of Ranger Distress inks… Shabby Shutters, Fossilized Amber, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Gathered Twigs and Pumice Stone.  I borrowed some inspiration for my layout from this Retro Sketch #150.
Just a simple little card… maybe I’ll save it to sneak in my hubs’ lunch box one day and surprise him!  :)
Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #341

 

The weeks are just flying by lately, and here we are at another Wednesday and another Color Throwdown challenge!  Lori is our hostess this week, and being a teacher she found inspiration for our colors this week in these sweet apples…

The photo shows some very muted shades of pink, orange, green and yellow, but I went bold and bright with my take on these colors…

I’ve had this card by Betsy Veldman on one of my Pinterest boards for a few months and decided to CASE her design for my card today, using the Text Block Birthday die from Papertrey Ink.  On the watercolor paper background, I applied a wash using a lot of water and some Razzle Berry and Orange Zest dye inks from My Favorite Things.  Then I used the Fresh Cut Florals stamps and matching dies from Wplus9 Design Studio for the little flower bouquets on the two opposite corners of the panel.

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

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Tenia Nelson, May Guest Designer

Birthday Gift Card Sets

I have been busybusybusy this past week!  My wonderful Mom turned 49 for the 21st time on March 18th, and today we’re having a big birthday party for her.  She’s always asking me for cards to send, so there couldn’t be a more perfect gift to give her than some sets.  I’ll keep the chatter to a minimum, and just list basic supplies under each photo.  Questions… just comment and ask.  I’ll ask put credit under photo for my inspiration, as I ended up CASE’ing designs from several fabulous stampers to get these card sets done.
Set #1

I was at a crop a few weeks ago with some local friends, and the fabulous Lindsay Amrhein made this beautiful card while we were there, and I knew I had to CASE it.  I don’t think my version is anywhere close to the beauty of her card, but I tried!  Stamps:  Wplus9 Design Studio Pretty Peonies, My Favorite Things LJD Spring Tulips (sentiment)

I knew Mom would want some “manly” birthday cards too, so I went and CASE’d my own design from a few years ago for these cards.  The strips on the white card stock ore washi tape.  Supplies:  The Mustache stamp set and Mustache Cutups die from The Cat’s Pajamas.

Here’s another set… I feel I failed miserably in attempting to CASE Dawn McVey’s pretty card, but I sure had fun trying!  Stamps:  Wplus9 Design Studio Fresh Cut Florals, Papertrey Ink Mini Blooms

I spotted this pretty card by Debby Hughes on Pinterest a few days ago, and knew it’d be a good one to CASE.  Here’s my version (but I still like hers better!)  Stamps:  LJD Blissful Butterflies, Get Well Wishes, BG Romantic Script background, BG Notebook Paper background, LJD Blissful Butterflies Die-Namics, LJD Scribbles Die-Namics, Notebook Edge Die-Namics (all supplies from My Favorite Things)
 
And finally, my CASE of this pretty card I also found on Pinterest recently.  Just love the pink on the tree for Spring.  The tree stamp set here is Giving Thanks from Simon Says Stamp, and the sentiment is from Impression Obsession.
That’s all…. thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #334

It's time for another Color Throwdown, and this week I'm hosting the challenge.  I bought a new Vera Bradley purse a few weeks ago in my favorite color (love me some orange!) and thought "these colors would make for a good challenge!"  So I hope you'll join us this week and create some orange, pink and navy things for me to see.

Several weeks ago, that darn ol' Broni made another card that had me drooling... she's very good at inspiring me and forcing me to spend money!  Only problem was, the Circle Scribbles die she used on this card was sold out when I went to buy it.  But lo and behold, if My Favorite Things didn't come to my rescue with their recent release and now I have the darling LJD Scribbles Die-Namics to use instead!  Here's my card...

I cut the Scribbles from Cotton Candy card stock, then added some flowers from the Wplus9 Design Studio Fresh Cut Florals stamped in orange inks.  The navy blue card stock background was embossed with a chevron stencil, and I finished the design with a sentiment flag and enamel dots.

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

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Holly Brown, March Guest Designer
Julie Beech, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #325

Hey friends, happy Wednesday!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown and this week it’s my turn to play hostess!  I found this awesome fabric to inspire you today, with these cool, retro cats…

Ha!  Aren’t they cool!  I just fell in love the second I saw this fabric.  I pulled four colors from the fabric for you to use today, but don’t be afraid to add a little celery green from the photo, too!  Here’s my card…

Can you look at this and tell that I’m longing for Spring already?  After the brutality of last Winter, I’m just fed up with the snow, cold and ice we’ve had so far this year and am ready to move to the Bahamas!  Who’s with me?  So, I tried to brighten my outlook with this card, using the Spring Blooms stamp set from Wplus9 Design Studio.  The gorgeous reddish-orange cardstock and ink you see here is the new Persimmon from My Favorite Things… it’s my new favorite color!  The birthday sentiment, from the Hello You stamp set, and the die-cut “you” are both from Simon Says Stamp.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Bonnie Sharp, Guest Designer
Cassie Trask, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #321

Happy Wednesday, friends!  It's time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Broni is our hostess.  She's got gold, silver, dark brown and white from this beautiful photo to inspire you this week...

Combine these colors with my lack of creativity and motivation right now, and you can imagine that I was a little intimidated by these colors!  But I persevered and came up with this...

I used my new (to me!) Merry & Bright and Woodland Wreaths stamp sets and dies from Wplus9 Design Studio for my card today.  The berries on the wreath were stamped in gold, then heat embossed with gold embossing powder, as was the pinecone.  In the background, I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background from My Favorite Things using gold Encore ink, then I added a dark brown strip of card stock to the left side, and mounted the panel over a strip of silver glitter card stock.  A few gold and silver sequins finished off my design.  I was inspired by the current Clean & Simple Stamping sketch #314 for the layout of my card.
Please be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration...
Barbara Anders 
Broni Holcombe 
Joan Ervin 
Jodi Collins 
Lori Tecler 
Monika Davis 
Vickie Zimmer 
Wanda Cullen 
Sue Lelli, December Guest Designer
Joanne James, Guest Star Stamper
Thanksabunch for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #320

Hello friends, I hope you’re still with me!  I know it’s been pretty durn quiet around here… I’m suffering from a severe lack of mojo and motivation.  You can look at my bank statement and tell that I have plenty of motivation for stamp shopping, but just no motivation for stamping.  If you have a remedy for this affliction, please share it with me!
Our Color Throwdown hostess today is my BFF Barbara Anders, and she’s got this great Christmas-inspired photo for us…

And here is my last minute, thank-God-I-found-some-motivation-and-mojo card…

Some of the shopping I’ve been doing lately paid off since I was inspired to use my new Branch Out Confetti Cuts tree from Reverse Confetti for my card!  And the Retro Sketch #142 for this week gave me plenty of inspiration, too!  And I’m so pleased that I finally remembered to try adding a “thread bundle” to one of my creations, AND pleased that it didn’t turn out half bad, either!  What IS bad though, is that I’m now OUT of silver thread!  Oh dear, MORE SHOPPING TO DO!  :)
Be sure to stop over at the CTD blog for all the challenge details, so you can join us this week!  And visit 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
I wish you a wonderfully happy Thanksgiving holiday (if you’re in the US!), and thank you so much for stopping by today!