Freshly Made Sketches #754

Hello friends.  Judy's sketch over at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge made me put my thinking cap on, but luckily, the DT had some fantastic inspiration to get the juices flowing again!

It was the blank part at the top half of the sketch that got me, but once the idea came, it was full steam ahead. I came up with an easy AND CAS card that I really liked when finished. Take a look...

It's been a bit cooler here (and wet!!!), so I've had Fall on the brain, and this sweet little line up of pumpkins from Impression Obsession (by Lindsay Ostrom D19277) fit the bottom half of this card

perfectly!  I stamped the image in black and heat set it with clear embossing powder, and then did some paper piecing which I haven't done in quite some time!  I used dsp from PTI in Canyon Clay, Basic Kraft, & Hawaiian Shores and fussy cut out each pumpkin and I really love how this came out.

For the top half of the card I used a piece of kraft cs and embossed it with my SU! Subtle ef.  I finished it quite simply with a piece of narrow seam binding ribbon to cover the center of the card and then added a strip sentiment from Gina K's All At Once Greetings that I embossed in white on black cs. I used foam tape behind the sentiment for a bit of dimension and then told myself to leave it as it really didn't need anything else.  

Nothing like getting in at the last minute, but I craft when I can these days!  This challenge is only open till 3:00PM today, but maybe if you're quick you can still play along.  You can find the DT's fabulous cards right HERE if you need some inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #141 - PURPLE & ARTICHOKE

Hello friends.  It's the middle of the month and time for another challenge here at Color Hues. Sheri is our hostess for this round and she has chosen the beautiful pairing of PURPLE & ARTICHOKE.

I had fun with this one, using an older set from The Greetery (Print Shop: Fresh Floral) that I hadn't used in quite some time!  Take a look...

 This set uses stencils and stamps, and I have to admit it was fun to do a little stamping after using not much other than stencils and die cuts the past few years (not including sentiments!!).  The larger flowers are the stenciled ones and the rest are stamped.  I used Gina K's trio of Lilac inks and the closest I could find to artichoke (after googling it) was my Old Olive (SU!) stamp pad.

 I trimmed my panel down and added it to a top folding white card base, and then added my sentiment from SB's Bouquet of Hugs Sentiments which was letter pressed.

I also added a single flower that I stenciled, stamped and die cut, and then added with foam tape down by the sentiment.  A few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) were added for a touch of bling.

The DT and our Special GD Amanda all have some beautiful cards to inspire you that you can find right HERE, so check it out and play along!  We'd love to see YOU in the gallery!!  This challenge is open till Tuesday, Sept. 29th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Be Merry!

Hello friends.  Playing along with a couple challenges today with this fun card...

This fun(ny) reindeer is from Stamping Bella's ODDBALL REINDEER set, and I hadn't played with him in quite a while (years??).  He and the other 2 reindeer that come in the set all crack me up...can you tell how excited he is about Christmas?!  I love Christmas, but I still think he is just a hoot!  He was colored with my Copics and fussy cut, then set aside while I worked on the card base.

Don't ya love the mittens on his ears??  And the look on his face?  And I think the sentiment is perfect for this oddball!!

For my background I used Karren's sketch over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge and added 2 strips that I embossed with SSS's Snowflake Visions EF, and for the center strip, a piece of DSP from PTI. The frame around this oddball is from PB's Classy Frames set of dies and the sentiment strip is from Gina K's Master Layouts #1.

I am also sharing this card with the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge, who are looking for reindeer, and I thought this oddball guy definitely fit for this challenge!  

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

CAS Mix Up - Sept. 2026

Hello friends.  Carved out a little time to make a card for the CAS Mix Up Challenge where they are looking SUNFLOWERS and WATER COLORING.

I have lots of Sunflower stamps, dies and stencils, but one I keep going back to is Spellbinders Sunflower Serenade dies.  Here's what I came up with...

I die cut all my Sunflower pieces from white cotton cs and water colored them all with my Aqua Painter and inks. After they dried and were glued together, I arranged them in a basket that my sweet friend Bobby had cut for me last year (I believe it's from Honey Bee, but could be wrong). I attached the basket and Sunflowers to a piece of white cs that I ran through with SU!'s Cane Weave ef.

I really like how this turned out and decided to leave a sentiment off the outside and just add one inside when I decide what to use it for!

Lots of beautiful inspiration to get you started on this challenge from the DT and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till the end of the month. 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #140 - Dusty Blue & Brown

Hello friends.  Can you believe it's the 1st of September already?!  I don't know about you, but this year has been flying by for me and I'm still waiting for it to slow down!  While I'm waiting though, let's check out the newest challenge over here at Color Hues where our wonderful leader Nancy has chosen the color pairing of DUSTY BLUE & BROWN.

I was in need of a masculine birthday card for my SIL and thought these colors would be perfect.  Here's what I came up with...

I started by cutting up different size widths of Boho Blue, Early Expresso, & Soft Suede cs (SU!) into strips and then adhered them to a panel. After cutting off the ends I ran the panel through with a SSS Birthday Sentiments ef.  It showed up, but not as much as I wanted, so I ran a white pigment ink pad lightly over the raised words and they showed up much better!

I adhered my panel to a white card base and then added my sentiment using The Greetery's Everyday Labels and some foam tape for dimension.  A bit of twine and a few gold pearls (PFS) finished off my card.

The DT and our Special GD (who is also my sweet friend!!) Michele all have wonderful inspiration for you that you can check out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, Sept. 14th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Freshly Made Sketches #751

Hello friends. Just popping in with a quick card for the current Freshly Made Sketches Challenge...my sweet friend Michele is hosting and has a wonderful sketch for us to follow!

And here's what I came up with...

An easy card to put together as the leaf was already done in the package from last year or maybe even longer...I just knew it would work beautifully with the sketch!  I used a piece of kraft cs that I ran through with SSS's Falling Leaves EF and then lightly ink blended over it with residual ink on my brown blender brush.  I attached it to a rustic cream card base and then added a small rectangle from Pumpkin Pie (SU!) cs on an angle to match the sketch. Next I die cut from the rustic cream cs the frame from PB's Snowflake Stitch Frames (just pretend they're not snowflakes!!) and added it on an angle too per the sketch. Next I added the leaf which is from IO/Dina Kowal (E13817) with foam tape for a bit of added dimension.  

To finish, I added a twine bow to the leaf, a few champagne pearls from PFS, and a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Autumn Flowers.  

Lots of wonderful inspiration using Michele's sweet sketch that you can find right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Monday, Aug. 31st @ 3:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

CAS Christmas and CAS Mix Up August 2026

Hello friends.  Sharing a quick and easy card for both the CAS Christmas Challenge (Santa's Sleigh) and the CAS Mix Up Challenge (Stenciling over patterned paper).

And here's what I came up with using Cottage Cutz Vintage Horse & Sleigh and PTI's Spring Rain striped DSP that I stenciled snowflakes from The Greetery's Frosty Flakes Stencils.

I started by stenciling my snowflakes using residual ink from my blue blending brush onto the striped DSP, and then matted it with a piece of black cs. (Although you can't see it, I did add WOS to the stenciled snowflakes.) I die cut the Vintage Horse & Sleigh from black cs (twice for a little more stability) for a silhouette look and added it with foam strips to the DSP.

I added my stenciled DSP and sleigh to the upper portion of my white card base and then added the sentiment from PTI's In The Meadow stamp set below.  Very simple and quick & easy, but I love the way it turned out!  Lots of inspiration on both the CAS Christmas site and also the CAS Mix Up site.  These challenges are both open till Monday, August 31st.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!