Casology Straw Hat Anniversary

Happy Monday, peeps!  Weird weather this weekend....very warm for March.  It makes me nervous, like we're going to get "rewarded" with a snowstorm next week or something, LOL!  Anyway, can't do a thing about it so I just go to my stamp room and stamp!  A couple in our church are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary!  Casology had a fun challenge of "hat" and I had been wanting to use this straw hat image from one of my absolute favorite retired sets, Garden Pleasures.  

So here we go:

I needed my card to be really clean and simple, so I just placed my stamp (it's an old wood one but I took it off the block) in my Stamparatus and stamped it in Memento Black, cleaned it and then stamped again in Versamark without moving it.  Then I heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder and simply colored it with an aquapainter and reinkers.  Normally I don't like to watercolor on regular cardstock because it pills, but with the embossing and it being a smaller image, it worked great! 

I added a sentiment from the SAB set Special Moments and a few speckles from Color and Contour, then stamped my sentiments from the retired Number of Years on the inside:

70 years is amazing.....a real testimony to their commitment to each other and to the Lord!  Thanks for popping in today!

The saga of Eden and the dog bed continues:

No caption needed, LOL!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Color and Contour, Special Moments (ret), Garden Pleasures (ret), Number of Years (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla
Ink	Versamark, Memento Black, Crushed Curry, Bumblebee, Cinnamon Cider, Misty Moonlight, Flirty Flamingo
Accessories	Clear Embossing Powder
Tools	Aquapainter, Corner Rounder Punch (ret), Heat Tool, Stamparatus

TCC128 Be My Valentine

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  Time for another Card Concept challenge!  Here's our prompt for this week:

I chose to go "Clean and Layered" for today's Valentine card; I used the colors in the pillows to create a little panel full of hearts....check it out:

I used an older Papertrey die to diecut each circle and corresponding heart to fill it, then mounted them on a Whisper White panel that was cut with the new Stitched So Sweetly die:

At the bottom of the panel, I stamped a sentiment from PTI's Tiny Treats Valentine set, then mounted it all on a card base that was embossed with the Large Polka Dot EF!  Easy peasy!  Again, the style of my card is Clean and Layered!  And because it's CAS, I am also entering this in CASology's challenge this week as well:

Be sure to check out what the DT created at The Card Concept blog--it's always fun to see how the photo is translated into different styles!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy your day and be blessed!  And here are a couple of my "sweethearts"!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Tiny Treats Valentine (Papertrey Ink)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Real Red, Misc Plaid (from my stash)
Ink	Real Red
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched So Sweetly Die, Heart/Circle Die (Papertrey, can't find name of it), Large Polka Dot EF (ret)

CAS341 and CI54 A Little Hello

Happy May Day, everyone!  I am glad May is here, spring is finally sticking around!  I am playing with a new-to-me challenge today, Colour INKspiration (at their FB page) as well as the CASology turquoise challenge:

I pulled out some retired colors, Tempting Turquoise and Taken with Teal, for my little wreath card today:

I stamped the greenery from Botanical Bliss twice around to create my wreath, then stamped the bird in Stazon black and fussy-cut him out.  It surprises me that SU has such a nice coordinating die for  some of the images in this set, but no bird die!!!  Anyway, I added a little sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings, backed it with a wee little black mat and popped them both up on the wreath with mini dimensionals.  The bird looked a little bare, so I added some Taken with Teal greenery diecut with the Botanical Tags die and added some of the smallest Basic Black faceted embellishments:

I diecut the panel with the largest Stitched Rectangle die, added another narrow mat of Basic Black and adhered it all to a Whisper White card....I left the inside blank so I could use it for any upcoming occasion!  Glad you popped in today---be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Inspired By challenge!

Speaking of May--we had some intense April showers last week that hopefully will bring May flowers!  Cassidy, Lee and Grampy were all out in the garage when the deluge started!  Grampy sent Lee and Cassidy to the porch with his big golf umbrella, while he used Cassidy's ladybug umbrella!  It was pretty funny!

Cassidy had forgotten all about this umbrella, so she insisted on using it instead (and putting on a fake sad face), while Lee just loved standing out and watching the rain pour down!!

But there was no playing outside after that deluge!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

CASology 302 and SIP152 Smile

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I have a bright, happy CAS creation for you today using the colors from Stamp Ink Paper and the cue of "squiggle" from CASology:

When I checked the samples from the CASology blog, the term "squiggle" looked like it was used pretty loosely, LOL, so I thought it would be okay to use some new MFT dies that I just got.  So here we go:

My "squiggle" is the wonky stitching around the edge of the center panel; I added elements in the challenge colors with some flowers in Highland Heather, a pretty new SU color, Lemon Lime Twist and Coastal Cabana, which is returning (YAY!):

The "smile" die was a free gift, so I put that to good use, embellishing it with a little flower too!

On the inside, I stamped a greeting from Stitched All Around:

I resisted putting any other embellishments on, as it is supposed to be CAS!  Thanks for popping in today!

A few more pictures from the Apron Strings;  this little cutie is Piper, and she is my friends' Robyn and Claudia's granddaughter...yes, we have lots of families whose children grew up in church and went on to get married to each other!  Anyway, Piper was proud to show off her "Chef Piper" apron:

After Piper showed us her apron, Mom Mom Robyn showed us an apron that her grandmother made for her when Robyn was three years old:

When Piper saw the little apron, she piped up, "MomMom, you should give that apron to ME!"  We cracked up!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Lemon Lime Twist, Coastal Cabana, Highland Heather
Ink	Highland Heather
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Wonky Rectangle Die, Stitched Flowers Die, Smile Die (all My Favorite Things)

CASology 293 - Easter Cross

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  Super-quick post today; the CASology challenge this week is:

and I happened to need another Easter card!  One of my favorite non-SU embossing folders is called Cross with Words from Darice; although it's hard to see in the photo, I brayered some Flirty Flamingo ink on the inside of the folder and embossed a piece of Rustic White cardstock.  I added a few faint flowers from Touches of Texture around the outside of the embossing, added a Blushing Bride diecut cross and mounted it on a Blushing Bride card:

I also added a glimmer embellishment on the center of the cross:

We have lots to do today, so that's it!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

We made some tie-dyed eggs....more on how they turned out later!

Tiny Leaves

Happy Friday, everyone!  Phew, I am glad to see the week be almost over!  We are prepping today for our Operation Christmas Child event tomorrow....I get all teary-eyed thinking about the children who will be receiving the shoeboxes; it makes all the work worthwhile!  But on to my card!

I was so intrigued by CASology's "tiny" challenge, I decided to do another card, especially since I discovered this tiny leaf die in the Seasonal Tags Framelits!  I cut it out of Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry and mounted it on a note card of Crumb Cake on which I stamped a subway-style background from Close to my Heart:

And since this fits with the challenge from Tic-Tac-Toe (across the center) and Addicted to CAS (leaves), I am entering them there as well:

I just love all the fall words used here!  A few sequins and it was done!

Just as we left Longwood on Tuesday, it began to rain; I had a hood on my jacket, but Cassidy brought her ladybug umbrella....a bright spot on a dreary day!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Poster Tidings (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie
Ink	Versamark
Accessories	Sequins
Tools	Big Shot, Seasonal Tags Framelits

FMS312, MM264 and CASology 274 Tiny Cardinal

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  A quick post today, I am running late!  I have a small 4.25" square Christmas card for you today, using three challenges:

• Merry Monday's Kraft and Red
• FMS sketch
• CASology's cue card of "tiny"

I just happened to have a piece of Kraft cardstock left in just the right size!  I stamped it with a retired Cornish Heritage Farm gingham stamp in the lower left corner, added a little scallop trim and a diecut cardinal on a simple little branch!  I hope it's CAS enough!

Sentiment is from Sweet N Sassy's Holiday Greetings stamped in Chocolate Chip; cardinal is Memory Box's Cheery Cardinals; branch is from Christmas Pines, stamped in Crumb Cake; stitched square is from Lil'Inker.  Thanks for popping in today!

Cassidy had off school yesterday so we squeaked in a trip to Longwood Gardens before it started raining!  Their chrysanthemum displays are incredible!  Unfortunately, she wanted to play in the kids' area more, so I only got a couple of pictures:

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Paper Players 353 CAS Bikini Fun

Hi everyone!  Happy Sunday!  I hope you're having a great weekend!  It's the fabulous Claire's turn to host the Paper Players challenge and she has a CLEAN AND SIMPLE one.....the reason I put those in capital letters is because the first time around, I FORGOT that part of the challenge!!

So this is actually my second card for this challenge!  It uses the CASology cue card of "Wish" as well as the CAS Colours & Sketches sketch:

        

So this is just a little tongue-in-cheek card.....I am sure some of you remember the little song from 1960 by Brian Hyland called Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini?  (You can hear it here if you've never heard it!!!)  I remember it being one of the very first songs I heard on the radio, and I was six years old at the time!  Anyway, while trying to figure out what I could create for this CAS challenge, I found this yellow polka-dotted paper and remembered this little bikini stamp (actually I think it's supposed to be underwear, but you'll have to work with me here, people) I got a while back from my friend Tammy!  Bingo!  

I stamped it in Daffodil Delight, added my little sentiment with Brushwork Alphabet, an embossed panel and some twine and it was done!

I actually did wear a bikini in my much younger days.....but nowadays, I can only wish to wear one, LOL!   I hope you'll stop by the Paper Players blog to see the others' fun CAS cards and be sure to share yours with us as well!  Now, do you have that song stuck in your head like I do?!  Enjoy!

The "kids" are on vacation visiting some family in GA and SC.  No trip down south is complete without a stop at South of the Border, right?

Be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Brushstroke Alphabet, Big Girl Panties (unknown maker)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Matinee DSP (Imaginesce)
Ink	Daffodil Delight
Accessories	Thick White Baker's Twine
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Dimensionals