Celebrating

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We celebrated our middle daughters birthday yesterday with a family dinner and just had a great time catching up...it's been since Christmas that we've all been together.  I hadn't seen our oldest for about 7 weeks, and you can definitely tell she's pregnant now!  She's got a nice little rounded belly and she just started feeling the baby move this past week...exciting times!  And my daughter whose birthday we celebrated got a puppy from her husband and they brought him along too....he's a miniature Dachsund and is just adorable!  I should have taken a picture of him for you all, but I didn't even think about it till now...sorry!  I did take one of her birthday card though, so that's what I'm sharing today.  Take a look:

Got new stuff from PTI and just had to play with it! :0)  I am in love with the new "Wet Paint" set, and know I will get a lot of use from that set!  I also used the Button Stacks die to make the flower, and love how that turned out.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll be better able to see the detail of the flower.  I used Crystal Effects to make the flower shiny.  The greenery is from PTI's "Blooming Button Bits" and fit's perfectly with using this flower!  I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I saw Piali Biswas of Touch of Creation do a very similar card for the March Blog Hop over at Papertrey Ink, and just had to CASE it!  (Thanks for the great idea Piali!!)  I also used my Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle dies and a few sequins on this card.  Pretty CAS for me, but I really like how this turned out.  I also made a matching pillow box to stuff some earrings and a flower barrette in:

 
Had to add the pink Primrose to add a little color to our dinner table yesterday, and along with the sunshine and 52 degree temps, it really did feel like Spring yesterday!  And there's sun today too, and we're supposed to hit 60 for a high temp....wooohoooo!!!  Back to reality tomorrow with temps only in the 40's, but it's still better than what we dealt with all winter, and I'm hopeful the warm temps today will get rid of some of these "mountains" of snow we still have hanging around! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your day, wherever you are! :0)

Look Who's Turning.....

Good morning friends.  Sharing with you a card today that a friend asked me to make for a little boy who's turning one.  I haven't used a Lily of the Valley image in quite a while and decided the little boy with the toy sailboat would be a great image to stamp for this card.  Take a look:

Love, love this little guy...isn't he a sweetie?!  I stamped him with Momento's Tuxedo Black ink and then colored him with my Copics.  I paper pieced the sails with SU! DSP.  I used my Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle dies to cut out the top and kraft cardstock layers and then attached to a white card base.  The sentiment is from PTI and I also added a few red star sequins for a little bling.  (I know, I know...you're not supposed to use bling for little boys, but I figured I was safe with star bling, and it's not like it is pink or anything!!)  Anyways, thought this turned out really cute and hope my friend likes it too! :0)

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

Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop

Hello friends.  Who doesn't love a bright and SHINY card, and that's what Papertrey Ink is asking for this month!  So here's my take:

I had a little bit of Graphic 45 DSP laying around, so made a Melissa (Phillips) sized card and stamped the smaller flowers from the "Rosie Posie" stamp set around a circular opening.  Added a piece of clear acetate behind the circle, and then attached the die cut "hello" over the top.  I stamped the hello (Wonderful Words: Hello - PTI) and then clear embossed it to make it shine.  Also added a few iridescent light purple sequins to add a little more shine.

LOTS of really cool cards over at Nichole's site, so make sure you check it out  here .

Thanks for stopping by...LOVE it when you do!! :0)

Merry Monday #101 - Grey, Red, and White

Good morning friends.  Playing along with a color challenge at Merry Mondays today...use grey, red, and white.  Again, not your traditional Christmas colors, but I have to admit that I really LOVE this color combo!  You can use more red and make your card really festive or use more grey and make a more peaceful card.  I went with the grey and peaceful card and came up with this:

It was a cold and SUNNY day yesterday, so I can't really blame my photography skills on the lack of sun!  IRL though, this subtle card really "pops" with just a touch of red against the peaceful look of the white trees against the grey background.  I started with a Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle die for my top layer, and then heat embossed with VersaMark, white embossing powder, and SU!'s "Lovely As A Tree" stamp.  Next I used Smokey Slate ink and my Aqua Painter brush to watercolor my background...this technique really makes whatever you emboss in white really stand out!  I added just a little bit of glitter at the base of the trees to add some sparkle.  I mounted this layer to a darker grey layer and then added a bit of red & white bakers twine and my sentiment (PTI - "Christmas Blessings") in Real Red (SU!) ink.  A white card base finished the card.  I tried a couple different layouts and stamps,  but the above card is my favorite.  Here are the other two:

Which card do you like best?

This was such a fun challenge, that I may have to try another card using more red this time and see what I come up with!  Here's the inspiration photo:

LOVE this photo!  If you'd like to play along, check out all the great inspiration from the design team and players over at the Merry Monday site here .

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday! :0)

Colour Me #12 Challenge

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today as I wanted to get in on the Colour Me! challenge before it ends.  LOVED the subtle colors they chose this week and seemed like a perfect opportunity to play with a new stamp I had bought a couple months ago but hadn't inked up yet.  Are you into the feather craze that SO many others are into right now?  I didn't think I would be, but have to admit I'm really liking some of the cards I've been seeing.  Found a simple inexpensive feather stamp at my local stamp store and this is what I came up with:

The challenge was to use Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, and Coastal Cabana, and I thought those colors were perfect for this simple little peacock feather by Deep Red Stamp Co.  I kept the card very simple to focus on the beauty of the feather and the colors, and only added a sheer piece of ribbon and a few sequins, and my sentiment (PTI - "Blooming Button Bits"). 

You can check out the challenge and all the other great entries here .

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great rest of your weekend! :0)

Orange, Green...Really?

Good morning friends.  Back with the promised card I made for our youngest daughters birthday yesterday.  I don't know why I was struggling to come up with something for her, but asked her to give me a couple colors she liked to help get me started.  She said orange and green.  Really?  REALLY?  Must be something about 19 that makes you weird!  Anyway, I asked if I could add a 3rd color, and this is what I came up with:

I apologize about the quality of the picture...not very good light when I was taking photos the other day (if you click to enlarge, it will be clearer).  I ended up using Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, and Wisteria Wonder inks and cardstock, and while it's not a color combination I would have chosen, it turned out all right and Calla loved it, so all's good! :0)  I embossed with black embossing powder the tag from the "Chalk Talk" (SU!) stamp set and then used markers to color in some of the areas on the tag.  I used the Decorative Dots EF on the bottom 2/3rd's of the card and used "Petal Parade" stamp set (SU!) for the top third of the card.  I made a strip from the Arrows Textured Impressions EF (SU!) from Wisteria Wonder to add a little more of my third color.  I finished with a seam binding bow dyed with Calypso Coral re-inker and piece of Lucky Limeade bakers twine.  And a few sequins to add some bling. :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :0)
 

Merry Monday #100

Good morning friends and HAPPY SPRING!!  The sun is shinning, balmy temps in the 60's, green on the trees, and flowers budding everywhere....NOT!!!!!  At least not in my neck of the woods...just another layer of the white stuff.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Have I mentioned I'm SICK of winter?!!  Ok, I'm done complaining, so let's get on to celebrating.  Our youngest turns 19 today (Happy Birthday Calla!!) and Merry Monday's is celebrating their 100th challenge with a merry and bright color combo and neat layout:

Are these fun colors or what?!!  And because the colors were so bright and festive, I figured a fun card was in order!  Like this:

Doesn't she just make you smile from ear to ear?  I love this bright and cheery color combo with this little cutie by Stampendous!  I used Copics (G14, RV06, E00, & E02) to color her and a Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle die to cut out the top layer of my card.  The hot pink and white dotted design paper is from Recollections, and the rest of the DSP are scraps from my scrap bin.  I added a little Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine (SU!) and a few diamond rhinestones to finish off my card.  Never would have thought of using these two colors for Christmas, but I have to admit I'm really kind of hooked and you just may see more of this color combo from me! :0)

Make sure you check out all the other great cards at the Merry Monday site here .

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and come back tomorrow to see my daughters birthday card with her color choice: orange and green ...... REALLY?!!!  Ok, stay tuned!  And have a wonderful Thursday and 1st day of Spring! :0)

Festive Friday Challenge #27

Hello friends.  A bit later posting here...having a retired hubby is already messing with my schedule!  Oh well, we'll figure it out, although it still feels a bit like he's on vacation.  Anyway, playing along with the Festive Friday challenge today, and I am still loving all these photos that Meredith is coming up with for inspiration for our cards.  Could this photo be any more beautiful or inspiring?!

It makes me think sparkly, but also so soft and still.  So with those thoughts in mind, here is what I came up with:

 

I know I use this snowflake die a lot (Memory Box), but I love the intricacy of it!  I stamped first with Hero Arts "Needles and Cones" stamp set with Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery inks and then die cut the snowflake in the center of the square layer.  I mounted this layer to a square of POW silver glitter paper, and then layered that onto a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square white card base.  My sentiment at the bottom is from PTI's "In the Meadow" stamp set (thanks again Sue!!) and then finished off with a sheer white ribbon and a snowflake charm.  Here's a closer up photo:

 

  

Make sure you click on both photos to enlarge to see all the detail and sparkle.  There's still a lot of time left to play along with this challenge, and also a lot of beautiful inspiration from the design team and players, so make sure you check it out here .

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and make sure you stop back again tomorrow for a really cute card I made for the Merry Monday challenge.  Have a wonderful Wednesday! :0)

Graphic 45 Birthday Wishes

Good morning friends.  Don't usually base my cards off of design paper, but after seeing this particular paper on Kittie Caracciolo's blog here, I knew I had to find it and make something!  Luck was with me that day as I walked into my local scrapbooking store, and there the design paper by Graphic 45 was!  And here are a couple cards that I made with it:

Isn't that paper just yummy?!  Makes me want spring and summer to get here SO bad!!  Sure am glad that I at least have this hobby to bring color in my life, because there sure isn't any color outside here in my neck of the woods, other than dirty gray snow!  Although the sun is shinning today, so I guess I better be greatful for small things, right?! :0)  Anyway, I used SU!'s "Happy Watercolor" stamp set and Calypso Coral, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder, and Old Olive inks to mimic some of the colors in the DSP.  Simple but bright and cheery birthday cards to add to my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you all have a wonderful Monday! :0)

Merry Mondays #99

Hello friends.  Playing along with Merry Mondays today, and the challenge is to use Brown, Green, Gold, and White or Cream on your card.  Stumped me for a little bit, but then the wheels started turning and this is what I came up with...

I started by stamping the "Script" (SU!) background stamp with Pear Pizazz ink on a white panel that I also embossed with Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle die.  Then I used a pine bough stamp from PSX Stamps and embossed it with clear embossing powder, and then sponged around it with Always Artichoke ink.  The JOY tags are from My Sentiments Exactly and are embossed with gold embossing powder and then hung from the pine bough with gold cord.  I finished with a chocolate brown seam binding ribbon in the upper corner.  This card took a little time, but I really like the way it turned out and am totally loving the colors that I never would have chosen on my own.  Thanks Merry Mondays for the inspiration!!

Make sure you check out all the other great cards and inspiration over at the Merry Monday site here .

Thanks so much for stopping by today and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  :0)

MIM#155 - Creating Your Own Confetti with Papertrey Ink Dies

Good morning friends.  The challenge over at Papertrey Ink this week is to make your own confetti using different dies and coverplates.  Danielle Flanders has a great video showing lots of different ideas on how to make your own confetti, and you can check that out right here .  I've still been working on building up my stash of birthday cards, and this challenge seemed like a good way to make a card that wasn't all flowers, which is what I usually tend to do!  So anyway, here's what I came up with:

I started with PTI's "Birthday Style" stamp set and stamped the balloons in Real Red and Pool Party.  It's a little hard to see the 3rd balloon, but I stamped off with the Pool Party ink, so it's a really light color.  I used PTI's "Framed Out #12 " die with a small piece of DSP and then created my confetti with the "Super Star Border" die (PTI) to place behind the window part of the Framed Out die.  (I used a piece of clear acetate behind the window to hold the confetti in)  The "birthday" is also a PTI die and the "wishes"  is from the "Birthday Style" set.  I still had confetti left over, so I tried what Danielle did and added a piece of sticky strip to the top of the card and added the rest of my confetti.  I also added a few dots with Crumb Cake ink to the background to add another color and also to mimick the look of confetti.  Not my usual flowery card, but I really like how it turned out....thanks Danielle for the great ideas!! :0)  You can check out a lot of great cards with different types of confetti over at Nichole's blog .

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

Terrific Tulips

Good morning friends.  Well winter is back in my neck of the woods after a very brief break, so it is definitely a great day to show some springtime flowers and color!  I love checking out Splitcoast Stampers on Pinterest for ideas and inspiration, and someone had posted a card with a really old SU! set called "Terrific Tulips".  I knew I had that stamp set somewhere, so off digging I went and success...I finally found it!  I had forgotten what a great set it was, and here's what I came up with....

Can't you hardly wait to see green grass, blue skies, and all God's beautiful creations springing up from the ground?!!!  Every spring I am in awe of  His masterful artistry...the colors just blow me away!! :0) 

I used SU!'s Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, & Old Olive inks for the flowers, and Crumb Cake for the backgrounds (SU!'s "French Script" & "Pattern").  The sentiments are also SU!.  I finished each card off with bakers twine (LOVE that stuff!!).

Well I hope I've brought a smile to each of your faces today and hope for what is to come... No winter lasts forever.  No spring skips its turn. 

Well I'm off to get ready for a busy day today.  After almost 42 years at his job, my hubby is retiring this week and the guys he works with are giving him a celebration luncheon and also invited me.  This will definitely be the start of a different life...time will tell if we both survive it! :0)  Just kidding...I have my craft room, so all's good!!!! :0)  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday! :0) 

Colour Me Challenge #10 - Monochromatic/Old Olive

Good morning friends.  Found a new challenge to play along with last night while I was blog hopping some of my favorite ladies.  I love checking out Colleen's blog as she always has something pretty for me to look at, and this time was no exception when I saw the card she made for a challenge I had never heard of.  When I saw the beautiful inspiration photo for this new challenge I knew right away I was sunk and was going to have to play!  They want you to make a monochromatic card using the color Old Olive (SU!), which has always been a favorite of mine!  I knew right away the card I wanted to do too, but had to wait till this morning for some light to photograph it! :0)  Take a look:

A very simple card to put together, but I just love the monochromatic look and of course the color Old Olive!  I used SU!'s "Blooming with Kindness" flower stamp and the "Weathered" (retired) background stamp.  After inking up both stamps, I did use my Aqua Painter directly to the stamps to give them a bit more of a watercolored effect.  (If you click to enlarge the picture, you'll be better able to see the watercolor effect)  The sentiment stamp is also a retired oldie, but one I still find myself using a lot...love the font on this one!  I finished with a little bit of jute to add a touch of dimension to the card.  Here is the photo that so inspired me:


 Isn't that just the prettiest photo?!  I'd tell you to paly along with this great challenge, but there's only a couple hours left (leave it to me to find it at the last minute!!).  But definitely check out all the great cards this challenge inspired right here .  And thanks Colleen for clueing me in to this great challenge!!

Have a great Monday everyone and thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do!! :0)

Make it Monday #154 - Color & Texture Tips for One Layer Cards

Good morning friends.  Playing along with Papertrey Inks "Make it Monday" challenge today, where Erin Lincoln showed some great tips and ideas for one layer cards.  I have to admit that I rarely ever make one layer cards, but since I mail most of my cards, this was definitely a challenge I needed to pay attention to!  And while I honestly did listen to her video, I was more enthralled with her use of graphics and flowers together, so that is what inspired my card.  Take a look:

Graphics have never really excited me - I have always been more of a flower person!  Combining the two never occurred to me, but I have to admit that I really like the look, and already have ideas floating around in my head for more cards! :0)  I used the medium sized hexagons from the Rosie Posie stamp set (PTI) with Crumb Cake ink on a speckled cream cardstock layer, and then added flowers from PTI's "Mum's the Word" and "Daydreamer" stamp sets in Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, and Old Olive inks. (I stamped off to get the two toned color effects on the flowers)  I finished with some dots stamped in Crumb Cake and stamped the sentiment with Soft Suede ink and then used clear embossing powder over it.  I mounted the panel to a kraft card base (Erin says that's legal for one layer cards! :0).  So a very simple and yet detailed card at the same time...I like it!! :0)

Make sure you check out Erin's video (and great card!) and all the other entries here for some great tips and inspiration.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Friday and great weekend!

Be Very Merry - Festive Friday Challenge #26 & Merry Monday Challenge #98

Good morning friends.  Combining two challenges (Festive Fridays and Merry Mondays) today in a quick post, as I'm having computer issues and not sure how long my screen will stay up...so no long dialog today!  Festive Fridays showed an inspiration photo that makes you think gingerbread, and Merry Mondays is all about making a country themed card with stitching and buttons.  Here's my take combining the two:

This is so not how this card started out, but after many revisions and a complete new start, I like this new, simple, and less fussy version much better!  I used PTI's "Fancy Flakes" and "Holly Jolly" dies, Lil Inkers "Stitched Rectangle Mat Dies", and SU!'s "Be Very Merry" stamp to complete this card. 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to check out all the wonderful inspiration on both sites to get your own Christmas cards started...you'll be glad you did come December!

Celebrating

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today.  Been a little under the weather this past week and haven't done much stamping (hope to rectify that this week!!), so I'd like to share a card I made a few weeks ago with the layering dye and pigment inks.  Still loving this technique (check out the how to video with Heather here ) and this small card I came up with.......

 

 

Still had PTI's "Daydreamer" stamp set laying out and decided to try using the poppy flower for this card.  Used a small flourish from SU!s "Priceless" stamp set with the white pigment ink under the red ink of the flower, which you can see better in the 2nd photo.  I also used that same flourish in the background with black ink on the blue dotted DSP.  The tag is from PTI's "Tag Sale #3" die, the sentiment is from PTI's "Big Birthday Wishes", the red & white bakers twine is from The Twinery, and I dyed the seam binding ribbon with Bashful Blue (SU!) re-inker.  A few silver sequins finished it off.  (card size is 3 3/4" X 5 1/4")

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Monday!  (The sun is shining here and NO snow in todays forecast...yeah!!!!!)