Halloween File Folder Card

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Colors are really starting to change here, and it was a beautiful weekend!  God's master artistry just always amazes me in the Fall...incredible! 

A few weeks back I got the new SU! envelope maker, and while I haven't made a single envelope yet, I have made a card using the envelope maker that makes the card into a file folder.  I watched a video tutorial on Patty Bennet's blog  These are so easy to do and turned out so cute...take a look:

I started with Pumpkin Pie cardstock to make the actual file folder, and then added design paper (Bazzill - Web Lace) to decorate.  The little mummy stamp is one of Michael's $1 stamps from last year, and I pop dotted him on a Pumpkin Pie circle that I ran through a spider web embossing folder (SU!). 

I used a piece of cream colored cardstock for the insert and stamped the mummy again along with the "Happy Halloween" (this and the "October 31" are both from PTI's "Halloween Treats & Sweets" stamp set) in Baked Brown Sugar ink.  (LOTS of sponging too to give the card and insert and older creepier look!)  Finished with a piece of black grosgrain ribbon and just love how it all turned out!  These file folder cards are addicting and you'll definitely be seeing more of these from me! :0)

I have lots more Halloween to share with you this week, including a pennant banner I made over the weekend that I absolutely am in love with!!! Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you all have a wonderful Monday! :0)

Merry Monday #76 - Take Two

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today with another snowman card for this weeks Merry Monday challenge.
 
 Found this cute snowman stamp at a used stamp sale and couldn't resist.  Take a look:

The stamp is by Inky Antics and it has a 1999 date stamped on the wood block, so I figured it's "vintage" like me and decided to make it a "vintage" Christmas card! :0)  I kept it very simple (it was SO hard not to color his nose orange!!) and just used Baked Brown Sugar (SU!) ink and cardstock on a cream colored card base and a little bit of POW Gold Glitter paper for the 2 stars.  I did mask off the snowman and add the little pine tree's from an older SU! set called "We Woosh You..." to add a little more visual interest.  And that was it...quick and easy and done!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and enjoy your weekend! :0)
 

Fall Thanks

Good morning friends.  It's a little nippy in my 'neck of the woods" this morning, so I think a "Fall" feeling card is in order today!  Made this card (and treat box) for my good friend Sue as a thanks for placing an order a few weeks back when I was the hostess for the SU! club I belong to...it's always nice to show some homemade love when someone does something nice for you! :0)  I used PTI's "Polka Dot Parade #6" for this card, and although I struggled a bit with centering the teeny tiny leaf stamps on the teeny tiny leaf dies, it still turned out really cute.  Take a look:

If you click on the picture, you can see better the stamped designs on the leafs.  My design paper (The Paper Studio) dictated my color choices for this card: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, and Old Olive (all SU!).  My tag was cut from my Cricut using the DonJuan cartridge.  I ran my tree base through my Cuttlebug with a Darice woodgrain embossing folder to give it a bit more dimension, and also used the embossing folder on the piece of Early Espresso cardstock behind the tag.  I finished with a banner and Pumpkin Pie button (and twine) and a seam binding ribbon I colored with a Copic (Y17).  I really like how bright and cheery it turned out!  Had to add a little treat box with my card too, so here's a picture of both together:

Just the simple little treat boxes you can make with a half sheet of cardstock to coordinate with the card.  The little acorn is a PTI die and the Thank You on the acorn is from PTI's "Tiny Tags" stamp set.  (the little treat box is filled with candy corn and peanuts...one of my favorite fall treats!)

That's all for today friends, but I'll probably be back tomorrow as I have another snowman card for the Merry Monday challenge....I have way too many snowman stamps to limit myself to just one snowman card!  I've also been making some Halloween cards that I'll share with you next week, so stay tuned for more inspiration!  Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge

Hello again friends.  My second post of the day and playing along with Papertrey's September Blog Hop Challenge.  The challenge was to use a wreath, and one of my all time favorite PTI stamp sets is "Wreath for All Seasons".  I do have to say that I did think for a minute about using the wreath in PTI's "Birds and Blooms" set, which is also a favorite, but in the end I went back to the "Wreath for All Seasons" set.  I just love the simplicity of the grapevine wreath in this set, and it's so easy to decorate it any way you wish!  Of course, with Fall on us now, I did have to make my wreath a FAll themed one! :0)  Take a look:

I used mostly kraft cardstock for this card, and a little piece of Really Rust (SU! - retired) to layer the wreath on.  I stamped the actual wreath in Crumb Cake, and then used Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, and Old Olive for the leaves.  I used PTI's Chevron Plate for my background and also sponged it with Crumb Cake ink to make it "pop" a little more.  My sentiment is from PTI's "Mums the Word" stamp set and I used PTI's stamp and die from "Boutique Borders: Sympathy to stamp my sentiment on.  I finished with some seam binding ribbon that I colored with a Copic marker to match the deep brownish red I used in the wreath and sentiment.  Really happy with the way this card turned out! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by again today, and be sure to check out all the other amazing entries over at Nicole's blog.  http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/

Merry Monday #76 - Snowmen

Good morning friends.  Today I'm playing along with Merry Monday's weekly challenge, and this week the challenge is to use a snowman on your card...yippeeeeeeeee!

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE snowmen, so I was very excited about this challenge!  I have MANY snowmen stamps (hey, they're all different and I don't want to miss out on anything!!), but one of my all time favorites is "Blake" from Rubbernecker stamps.  Take a look at what I created with him:

Is that not a face that will just melt your heart, or what?!!  I love SU!'s Pool Party color, but I struggle to photograph it.  This photo looks more light blue than the greenish blue that Pool Party is.  If you click to enlarge the picture, it looks a little better color wise, and also you can see more of the sparkle as I added glitter to just about everything on this card! :0)  The tree and cardinals are PTI dies (In the Meadow) and the sentiment on Blake's sign is from the new Boutique Borders: Christmas from PTI.  My background snowflakes are from an old SU! set and I used my Aqua painter to color Blake's scarf with Pool Party and Pixie Pink inks.  His orange nose is a Copic (YR68).  My design paper for the snow hills was my last scrap piece and I can't remember the manufacturer...sorry!  I really like how this card turned out and it just makes me smile!

That's all for right now, but I'll be back later today with another card for PTI's September Blog Hop Challenge.  Yep, two cards in one day...wooooooohooooooo!!!!!!! :0)  Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon!
 

BIG Sunflower

Good morning friends.  One of the goodies I got from my last SU! order was the BIG "Sunflower" stamp, and I have to tell you I LOVE it!  I knew from the picture in the catalog it was going to be a big stamp, but I didn't realize how BIG, until I actually got it!  I used my aqua painter and this is what I came up with:

Is that not the coolest stamp, or what?!!  I used the aqua painter and Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, & Daffodil Delight (SU!) inks to stamp the flower and I think I must have stared at the image for like 5 minutes after I lifted the stamp as it turned out so beautiful!  I layered the image with Marigold Morning cardstock (retired) and Soft Suede.  I also used SU!'s "Weathered" background stamp on the Soft Suede layer.  The "Hello" is from PTI's "Embroidered Blooms" stamp set.  I also misted the sunflower with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist, but it didn't show up too well in my photo's.  I think this is just the coolest card for Fall!

That's all for today friends, but I'll be back tomorrow with a Christmas card for the Merry Monday challenge...snowmen!!  I LOVE snowmen, and have a really cute card to share with you!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a terrific Tuesday!  

Welcome Baby

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Ours aren't as wild and busy as they used to be now that we're empty nesters, but it was still a good one!  Even made it to the apple orchard for some yummy Honeycrisp apples! :0)  Definitely a good sign of Fall!

One of my girlfriends asked me to make a baby card for a friend of hers and requested that it be a nautical themed card.  There's hardly any stamping in this card, but still liked the way it turned out.  Take a look:

I did emboss the "Welcome, Baby" on the bottom of the boat, but otherwise everything is basically circles and squares cut up.  Other than plain white cardstock, the rest is dotted swiss, which works great for baby and nautical cards.  I also added a few buttons for a little more "pop".  And here is a picture of the inside:

If you click to enlarge the picture, you can read the verse a little more easily.  I did computer generate the verse, as I've never been able to find this in a stamp. 

That's all for today friends.  Have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow with more inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by! :0)

Merry Monday #75

Hello friends.  A week ago it was my turn to be hostess in the stamp club I belong to, and I told my demonstrator Stephanie that it was like waiting for Christmas morning this week for all my free goodies to arrive from SU!...I'm afraid I get a little impatient when waiting for new stamping "toys" to arrive! (what can I say?  I'm a kid at heart!!)  But anyway, one of the things I was waiting for was the new Thinlit Circle Dies so I could play along with this week's Merry Monday challenge.  Had an idea for my card, but couldn't get started till it came, and finally yesterday I was able to play.  The challenge this week was to use red, dark brown, vanilla, and gold in your card and here is the inspiration photo:

 

Isn't this a pretty photo?  I struggled a bit with the dark brown in my card, and actually ended up using more of a medium brown, but I do like how it turned out.  My biggest struggle though was in photographing my card!  The Thinlit Circle Die card makes a "flip" card, and I never thought about how hard it would be to photograph it...just how fun to make it and "flip it!  Anyway, take a look:

 

 





I started with a red card base and then stamped with gold ink on my two cream panels.  I also spritzed the cream panels with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist, so IRL it really sparkles, but unfortunately not so much in the picture!  In the center circle I added a scalloped circle of POW gold glitter paper, and then added a small cream colored circle and a part of the Nativity Border (Die-Versions) in Soft Suede.  I also added a small crystal gem in the center of the star to make it "shine" a bit more.  On the flip side of the circle I embossed in gold the "Joy" from SU!'s "The Sounding Joy" stamp set.

The "Joy" drove me a bit nuts as I'm pretty anal about things being centered and lined up, but there was just no way this sentiment was going to be centered in the small scalloped circle and still look like the word "Joy"!  So anyway, it is what it is, and I love the way it "flips", so all is good! :0)

It's a beautiful cool and crisp Fall day here in my neck of the woods, so my hubby and I are going to the apple orchard for some Honeycrisp apples...LOVE those apples! :0)  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!   

Happy Fall

Good morning friends.  Earlier in the week I shared a quick and simple "Fall" card, and mentioned I had made a 2nd similar card.  I used the same stamp set ("Fall Foliage" by Gina K), and same layout, but a different leaf and different sentiment.  Take a look:

I sponged my background square with a little bit of Crumb Cake and Really Rust inks, and then stamped the leaf image in VersaMark and embossed it with copper embossing powder.  (it's easier to see the copper sparkle if you enlarge the picture)  When I very first started stamping, it was a big thing to tear the edges of your card stock, and since I wanted to add another element to this simple card, and mostly because I "smudged" the edge while sponging the square and wanted to get rid of it, I tore the edge and  then added a strip of copper paper behind it. (hope that makes sense?!!)  The sentiment came from PTI's "Mum's the Word" set and the seam binding ribbon from The Craft Spot.  I finished by adding a copper leaf shaped brad to the center of the bow.  Again, simple and quick and a pretty "Fall" card! :0)

If I get my act together, I hope to be back later today or sometime tomorrow with a card for the challenge over at Merry Monday's.  Thanks for visiting with me today and have a fantastic Friday! :0)

Make it Monday #132 - Layered Border Die Cuts

Good morning friends.  I'm playing along with Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge this week, which is to use border dies in layers.  Dawn McVey made a great video and beautiful card to illustrate this technique, so of course I had to give it a try!  However, after finishing my card, I'm not quite sure it qualifies, as my border dies do not technically overlap.  But this is one of those cards that once I got the idea in my head, I couldn't go with anything else.  Take a look:

Can you tell what border die I used?  Yup, the tree trunk kind of gives it away, doesn't it?  I used PTI's heart border die and just flipped it upside down to create my Christmas tree.  I started at the top and worked my way down, adding  another heart with each row. (if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the actual border die better)  I decorated my tree with red sequins and a red glittered star (star is cut from PTI's Star border die), and then added my sentiment below the tree (PTI's "Christmas Blessings" stamp set).  So even though my borders aren't technically overlapping, I really do like how this card turned out! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Thursday! :0)

Festive Friday #17 - Colour Challenge

Good morning friends.  I'm playing along with the challenge over at Festive Fridays, and this week it's a color challenge using Navy, Silver, & White:

I love these colors together, and had a simple and quick (so I thought!!) idea I wanted to use for this challenge.  Settle in, because my simple and quick card took me most of yesterday! (if you don't want the long version, you can just scroll down to the picture!)  Anyway, I love to do snowflakes with these colors, and I also have a Cheery Lyn snowflake die that I'm absolutely in love with and wanted to use for my card.  I also wanted to use POW Silver Glitter Paper for my snowflake, but I wasted a whole 12 x 12 piece of the glitter paper trying to get this snowflake cut out!  The die is a very intricate one, but I have cut this same die using the POW Gold Glitter Paper before and had no problems getting it cut out.  NOT with the silver though!  I used my metal shim plate and tried and tried and tried, but NO luck!  That paper is not cheap either, so I was quite bummed!  I finally decided just to cut the snowflake out with white cardstock and then glitter it up, and it turned out fine.  I glued it to my navy blue cardstock and then went to emboss my sentiment.  I wanted to use the "Silent night, Holy night" from PTI's "Christmas Blessings" stamp set and silver embossing powder, but guess what?  The "Silent" part came out all blurred!  Of course my glued down snowflake would not come off, so I made another one (grrrrrr!) and then BEFORE glueing it down, I embossed my sentiment again, being VERY careful to not move or wiggle the stamp!  But of course, the "Silent" came out blurry again!  Thinking maybe the stamp was really dirty, I cleaned it well and tried again...and again and again!  I think I went through 5 or 6 pieces of navy blue card stock at this point!  I finally decided the "Silent" was just going to have to be blurry and completed the card.  It looked ok, but......  Thinking my embossing powder might be old, I took my 50% off coupon to Michael's and bought a new jar.  Of course while I was there, I had to look around, and found a piece of silver holographic paper and thought what a pretty snowflake it would make.  And it did!  I LOVED my card with it (except for the blurry "Silent" which new embossing powder didn't help!!) and got right to photographing it!  I can't tell you how many pictures I took using every window in my house, trying to get it so you could see the magic of the holographic paper!  I really did try friends, so you're just going to have to trust me when I say this card is really pretty IRL!  Take a look:

I know, a simple card like this should have only taken 5 minutes right?  I'm going to make a few more because I really do like how it FINALLY turned out, and hopefully each of them will only take a few minutes!  But anyway, that's my long story about my quick and simple card...hope you at least got a few laughs out of it (yes, I can laugh about it today too!).  Make sure to check out the rest of the entries over at Festive Friday's as there are some real beauties over there! :0)

Thanks for stopping by friends and I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! 

Just A Note to Say...

Good morning friends.  Made a couple quick and simple "Fall" cards this past weekend and finally got them photographed yesterday!  The one I'd like to share with you today uses the Maple leaf from the "Fall Foliage" stamp set by Gina K.  Take a look:

I think this would definitely qualify for a CAS (clean and simple) card, don't you?  I started with a card base of rustic cream from my LSS and then sponged a square of Crumb Cake ink on it.  I stamped the leaf with my Aqua Painter and Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze inks to give a more water colored look.  If you click on the picture to enlarge, you'll be able to see this better.  For my sentiment I used PTI's "Hello" stamp set and Soft Suede ink.  I finished with a little bit of twine (SU!) and I think the whole card only took about 15 minutes to make!

I made another very similar card using a different leaf from the same set and copper embossing powder, but I'll save that one for later on this week.  Off to take Brinkley for a haircut and bath now...boy does he NEED both!! Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you have a terrific Tuesday! :0)

Fall Inspired Meadow Greens

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today with a card I made awhile back using my beloved "Meadow Greens" stamp set (Papertrey Ink).

I know this card is similar to others I've made with this set, but I wanted to try it with "Fall" colors, and I really do like how it turned out!  I used Marigold Morning (stamped off for the flower on the right) and Cajun Craze (both SU!) for the flowers, Old Olive for the leaves, and Crumb Cake for the two background stamps.  I'll probably add a sentiment to the lower right hand corner later when I figure out what occasion I want to use it for. :0)

Hope to get some photographs taken today, as I have a few more cards to share with you, but either the timing or the weather was not cooperating with me this weekend.  So stay tuned...more to follow! :0)

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Monday!

Merry Monday #74

Good morning friends.  Today I have a card for the Merry Monday challenge, and I absolutely love the inspiration photo they provided:

 



 Wouldn't you love to move right in and have Christmas here?!!  I've always decorated with gold's and dark red's, but after seeing this picture, I'm thinking it might be time to change! :0)  But anyway, on to my card.  Take a look:

I have been hooked lately on making starburst cards, and although my picture doesn't show it very well (although I might add it's definitely NOT from lack of trying!!), I did use the starburst technique with the green woodgrain design paper (The Paper Studio).  If you click to enlarge the picture, you can get a little bit better sense of the piecing involved.  The closest I could come in matching my ink to the color green in the woodgrain paper, was SU!'s Certainly Celery, so that is what I used for the pine tree (SU!'s "Lovely as a Tree" stamp set).  After stamping the tree, I quite liberally added glitter to make it really sparkle! :0)  The sentiment I added is a die and stamp from PTI, and I also added glitter to the top and bottom flourishes.  I pop dotted the sentiment and added a sheer white ribbon (Michael's) for finishing touches.  I really like how this card came out and hope you do too! :0)

Well time to get moving and get some things accomplished today before leaving to go pick up our youngest from college this evening (it's a working weekend for her and she also FINALLY gets her braces off tomorrow morning!!!!).  Hope to be back tomorrow with another more "fall - like" feeling card and I'm hoping the weather feels a little more "fall - like" too...September and 90 degree days don't go together in my book!! 

Don't forget to check out the other entries over at Merry Monday's site...there are some real beauties this week! :0)  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a terrific Thursday!   

Fall Treat Boxes

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today to show you the little treat boxes I made for the Stamp Club ladies last night.  I was the hostess last night, so I wanted to bring something a little special to all the ladies to show my appreciation for all the free hostess benefits I received from their orders.  Take a look:

These are super simple to make from just a half sheet of cardstock (I used Really Rust, Mellow Moss, & Cranberry Crisp) and some scoring and cutting...NO dies involved! (other than the oval tags I made)  I found instructions for these little treat boxes on Dawn Olchefske's blog ( http://dostamping.typepad.com/dostamping_with_dawn/2012/10/video-stampin-up-mini-treat-tote-box.html).  I've already made a few for Halloween and plan on doing more for Christmas too. 

Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Make A Wish

Good morning friends.  Figured I could get away with a summery feeling "Fall" card today, since it's supposed to be in the 90's here in my "neck of the woods"!  I just want to put on a pair of jeans and make a pot of chilli...is that really so much to ask?!!  I know, I know, a couple of months from now I'll wish it were in the 90's again! 

Still had PTI's "Mum's the Word" stamp set sitting out this weekend, so made another card with it using SU!'s Wisteria Wonder and Certainly Celery inks and cardstock.  Take a look:

I know the bright color of the leaves made this much more summery feeling than a typical "Fall" flower should be, but hey, artistic license and all that, right?! :0)  And I love how the green "pops" against the purple, don't you?  My background is the Chevron Plate from PTI and I love how it makes such a striking background so quickly and easily!  The most time consuming part of this card was "fussy" cutting the flowers and leaves, but I'm one of those who truly doesn't mind cutting out images when they are simple shapes.  All that was left was the simple banner towards the bottom, and the card was finished! :0)  This will definitely make someone smile on a cold Fall day!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!  Stay cool!!! :0)

Smile

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Very low key here...still adjusting to the empty nest!  Did get some serious crafting time in though, so all's good! :0) 

Just a very simple card to share with you today.  After the past couple of Christmas challenges with all the kraft, red, and green supplies out, I decided to make a non-Christmas card with all those colors, and this is what I came up with:

If you click on the picture, you can see the background stamp I used a little better...I used SU!'s "Canvas" stamp with Crumb Cake ink.  Haven't used that background stamp in ages, and I'd forgotten how much I like the look of it!  The design paper is from SU!'s Season of Style and the apple is a PTI die that I stamped with one of the little background stamps from PTI's "Strawberry Patch" set in Cherry Cobbler ink.  The "Smile" is from PTI's "Tiny Tags" set, and then I finished with some seam binding ribbon (The Craft Spot), lace from my stash, and some sequins.  Simple, but I'm sure it will put a smile on someone's face! :0)

Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Monday! :0)

MIM#130 Heat N' Bond and Die Cutting

Good morning friends.  Don't have a card to share with you today, but I do have a fun little project that I made for Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge.  Erin Lincoln over at PTI made a cute little decorated muslin bag using material and Heat N' Bond, and then dies to cut out shapes and letters from the material.  I've been seeing these little decorated bags quite a bit recently and have wanted to try my hand at them, so this seemed like a good time!  You can buy these bags pre-made, but I decided to make my own (I used to sew quite a bit before card making took over my life!).  I've also been wanting to "tea stain" something since I saw some of the video's during PTI's Stampafaire, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to stain my muslin, sew them into little bags, use some of my background stamps to stamp the bags, and then finally, decorate with the material and die cuts.  I've made several, but I'll just show you one today - take a look:

Are these not the cutest little bags ever?!!  I love the color from the tea staining (black tea is the ticket to getting a nice color...I had tried with lace before using the mint tea I like, and while it smelled good, it didn't stain all that great!), and if you click to enlarge the picture, you'll be better able to see the background where I used my "French Script" stamp and Crumb Cake ink (both SU!).  Next came the fun part of decorating and I pulled out some material scraps I had and Wonder Under (same as Heat N' Bond).  I used PTI's Holly dies and the "merry" die (also PTI).  If you enlarge the picture, you can also see that I added a few red pearls to the smaller holly leaves over the "merry" to bling it up just a bit.  Very simple decorating, but I love how it turned out! I'll definitely be making a bunch of these to give small gifts in for this Christmas! :0)  Make sure you check out the other entries over at Nichole Heady's site http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/ ...there are some awesome idea's there including another muslin bag where the gal (Angela Pearson) did an entire little mini scene using fabric - too cute!! :0)

That's all for today friends, but thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! :0)

PEACE

Good morning friends.  Today I'm sharing another Christmas card and playing along with both Festive Friday's and Merry Monday's challenges.  Gotta love it when you can make one card that fits two challenges! :0)  Festive Friday's is doing a trigger challenge this week using the word "Peace" and Merry Monday's is having us make a card that uses kraft, red, & green colors along with either ribbon, twine, or burlap:

                              

I love the colors for Merry Monday's and I also love my "Peace" die from PTI, so this was a fun card to create!  Take a look:

I started with a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" kraft card base, and then used the Peace stamp from PTI's "Peace, Love, & Joy" and Crumb Cake ink to make my background.  I had originally thought to stamp the whole card base with the background, but had gotten 2/3rds of the way done when I realized I liked it just the way it was!  I stamped the wreath from PTI's "Wreath for All Seasons" in Crumb Cake and then stamped the little leaves with Old Olive and the berries with Real Red (all inks SU!)  I layered the wreath with a piece of Real Red cardstock and then tied some twine on the side.  Lastly, I cut out the word Peace using PTI's die and kraft cs, and then sponged it a little using Crumb Cake ink.  I pop dotted the word to make it stand out a little bit and really like the look of it against the rest of the card. :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and make sure you check out all the other entries at both sites, as there is some amazing inspiration there!  Have a wonderful Thursday and I hope to be back tomorrow with something I'm excited to share with you for PTI's Make it Monday challenge. :0)

Mum's the Word

Hello friends.  Not used to posting this late in the day, but better late than never, right?!  (been having computer issues...grrrrrrrrr!!!)  Just realized as I'm writing this up that this is my 200th post!  What a blessing this blog has been for me since I've been out of work!  Definitely gives me something to look forward to every week and also keeps me out of trouble...welllllll, kinda!  But anyway, the card I want to share with you today is from a new set by Dawn McVey (Papertrey Ink), called "Mum's the Word" and I LOVE it!  Here's my first card I made with it (yes, there will be more!):

Didn't it turn out pretty?  Started with a piece of off white cardstock that I embossed using a Darice ef, and then centered it on a card base of Cranberry Crisp (SU!).  I used the same off white cs to stamp the mums using Cranberry Crisp and Pumpkin Pie inks and Old Olive for the leaves.  I fussy cut them out and then adhered to the center embossed  cs.  I made a banner out of the same off white cs and used the birthday sentiment that came with the stamp set.  I also added some diamond bling  to sparkle things up a bit. :0)  I just love how pretty and elegant this card turned out and really like the ease of use in this stamp set...you will definitely be seeing more cards made from this stamp set this fall.

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a Christmas card I made for the Merry Monday's and Festive Friday's challenges.  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day! :0) 

Hello House Mouse

Good morning friends.  Still getting used to this "empty nester" life, but having one in college does mean I need to make cards that I can send (rather than ALL texts!), so that she has something in her mailbox to look forward to every once in awhile!  I love House Mouse stamps (by Stampendous) and had fun making up a card to send to my daughter.  Take a look:

Isn't she cute?!!  I colored her (her name is Monica) with my Copics and also added some glitter to the ribbon (which you can see better if you enlarge the picture).  I sponged the background with my cloud template to add a bit more of a contrasting color.  The design papers are scraps from my stash,  the button is SU!, and the sentiment is from PTI's "Embroidered Blooms". Coloring takes a bit more time than some of the quick & easy cards, but I love how this card turned out and my daughter loved it too!  (it was her first piece of mail in her dorm mailbox, so she was thrilled to have something in there!)

I've been busy in my craft room, but haven't had a chance to take pictures yet (our older dog Brinkley is a bit neurotic when it comes to me pulling my camera out, so I try to wait until he's outside so he doesn't flip out!!).  So, as soon as I get some photo's taken, I'll be back with some more inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday. :0)

It Feels Like Fall......

Good morning friends.  Our air-conditioning broke on Friday and I was moaning and groaning about how hot it was even just last night, and now here this morning it actually feels like Fall!  Amazing how just a few hours can make such a BIG difference!  It's September, Labor Day, and cool, so I guess I should be posting some more fall feeling cards, right?  I know I have a lot of "favorite" stamps, but SU!'s "Blooming with Kindness" flower stamp truly is a favorite of mine, so I hope you don't get sick of seeing it!  Here are a couple fall feeling cards I made last week using the flower:

The first card I used SU!s "Canvas" background stamp (click on the picture to enlarge to see the detail better) and the 2nd card I used SU!s "Print" and "French Script" background stamps.  My colors are Pumpkin Pie and Really Rust (both SU!).  I think the rest is pretty self explanatory, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! :0)  And did you notice on the first card how I cut away from the top of the flower...I've seen Debbie Olson from Thinking Inking do that on a few of her cards and I love that little extra added detail!

Well time to get busy here...have 27 jars of salsa I canned this weekend to get put away and a bunch of other chores before I can sit down and "play" this afternoon.  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday today (IF you're not working that is!!) and I'll be back with more inspiration tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing part of your day with me! :0)