Inspired By #117 - Yellow Makes Me Happy

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Inspired By challenge where it's all about YELLOW!

I love yellow and it always makes me think of Daffodils.  I have some little peeks of green leaves poking up through the ground in my front yard, so hopefully I'll have some bright yellow Daffodils to enjoy soon!

For my background I tried a new (to me) technique called Bubble Painting that I learned about from Karen, one of my teammates at CAS Watercolour.  I'm not sure mine really turned out the way it is supposed to look, but I still really like it!  I used Daffodil Delight re-inker for this technique and taped off all four of my edges before putting the cardstock into the colored bubbles.   Here's a closer up:

I stamped and masked the Daffodils from SSS's Friendship Blooms in black ink, and then added my sentiment on vellum so you could still see the stems and leaves underneath.  A very simple card, but I really like how it turned out!

Only a couple days left to play with this challenge, but I think we could all use some sunshine in our lives right now, so this is a good one to play along with!  You can check it all out right HERE to play along.

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

My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge #482

Hello friends.  Like many of you I've had extra time to play in my craft room lately, so I've been playing along with the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge and using some of my stamps that haven't seen ink in quite awhile!

Here's what I came up with using this sketch and the Tweet Friends stamp set...

These little birdies with the flowers just melt my heart, and if one of them is cute, then 3 of them are even cuter together!!  I colored them with my Copics and then did some layering with The Greetery's Crimped Frame Dies.

The sentiment is also from the Tweet Friends stamp set, and I finished off my card with a few enamel hearts and some clear sequins.  Figured this card would be another great one to send off to someone who needs a smile and a little "happy mail"!

You can play along with this challenge right HERE and maybe even win a $50 gift certificate to the My Favorite Things store.

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

Penny Black's Free Spirit

Hello friends.  Hope you are all hanging in there and not going too stir crazy!  I've been doing a lot of stamping, knitting, reading, and most of all praying!  The unknown is always scary, and I have to remind myself that I'm not in charge, and never have been!  It's all in my Saviors hands and I have to trust that He will get my family and I through this and to trust in Him implicitly!  Faith over fear!  Faith over fear!  Faith over fear!!!  OK, I think I've got it!!  :0)

A while back I had ordered some new Penny Black stamps and had used all of them except for one called Free Spirit.  It's funny that it was her wild hair that drew me in in the first place, and then it was that wild hair that kept me from inking her up right away because I was intimidated by it!  Once I started coloring her though (Copics), my inner FREE SPIRIT took over and I think her hair turned out just fine!  Take a look...

Isn't she a cutie with that wild mane of hair?!!  She actually reminds me of all 3 of our daughters who took dance classes while growing up and they all 3 had very fine hair that never did what you wanted it to do!  And now my granddaughter Addy who is also taking dance, has the same kind of wild hair!!  Haha...runs in the family!!  But anyway, this little fairy dancer was stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink and then clear embossed before I used my Copics to color her. 

I also used WOS on her wings, so in real life they really sparkle!  I added a crimped frame (The Greetery - Crimped Frame Die) using some very old DSP from LOTV called Promises.  I used foam tape behind the crimped frame to add some dimension.  The sentiment that comes with this stamp says "Create your own Sunshine" and I used it on the inside of the card as it was just too perfect not to use, but there wasn't any room on the outside of the card for it!  I think this will make a perfect encouragement card for someone during these trying times.

Hope you are all staying safe and practicing your social distancing...it's important to remember that this isn't just about us but everyone around us too.  Take care my friends and know I'm thinking of and praying for us all!

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

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #481

Hello friends.  Playing along with this week's MFTWSC481...

Had fun using this sketch and the Bundles of Love stamp and die, and came up with this CAS card:

I love coloring up these sweet little Pure Innocence gals with my Copics, and with her basket of colorful flowers, it seemed the perfect choice to use for a Spring encouragement card!  My diagonal strip of pink polka dots comes from the Lucky Prints 6 x 6 Paper Pack and my tag that I used the Cloud stencil on is from a retired Tags Die-namics set.

I finished off this card by stamping a few of the bee's and the sentiment that come with the stamp set.  Easy, quick, fun, and CAS and hopefully will bring a smile to someone's face during these unsettling days we are living through right now.

Check out the inspiration and play along right HERE for a chance at a $50 gift certificate.  :0)

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

Double D Challenge - Welcome Spring

Hello friends and Happy 1st Day of Spring!  Gray and cloudy skies here and COLD too, but it's bright and sunny here in my craft room and I'm more than ready to celebrate Spring!  Take a look at the lovely mood board the gals at The Double D Challenge have posted to inspire us to create SPRING...

I've been working on a lot of encouragement cards this week to use my gift that God gave me to bring some sunshine in what seems like pretty dark days lately.  I was totally inspired by the flowers and all the pink in the photos, so guess what color my card is??  Yep, it's pink!!

I started with a piece of Lovely Lady cardstock (PTI) and stamped Catherine Pooler's Cottage Garden background stamp with It's A Girl ink (CP also).  Next I stamped the flower image from Pinkfresh Studio's Just Because set and then water colored it with pinks, yellows, & greens.

After die cutting the image, I adhered it to my panel along with a few sprigs from The Greetery's Inside & Out Berry Branch die and a sentiment from The Greetery's Signed & Sealed stamp and die set.  A few clear sequins from PPP finished off my Spring looking card.

There's still lots of time to play, so check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT over at The Double D Challenge and then play along!  It's a perfect time to welcome Spring and send some "happy mail" and encouraging words to those around us who are struggling right now.  Stay safe and choose FAITH over fear my friends.

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

CAS Watercolour March 2020 - Reminder

Hello friends.  Just a little reminder that there's still time to play along with our Luck of the Irish challenge over at CAS Watercolour.

I don't know how Irish this card is, but I had fun playing around with a few different Brusho and Lindy's Magicals powders that I had added water to, and then painted several different backgrounds till I came up with one I liked.  I also did some splattering on the one I chose, and the splattering had some Lindy's Magicals in it, so there's some really pretty sparkle on it, which of course I couldn't seem to capture with my camera!  But IRL it really makes this card not quite so plain!!

I kept this card very CAS using only a white frame (PTI's Pierced Feature Frames) and a simple die cut from Poppystamps (Hampstead Bloom) that I thought I might be able to loosely term as a 4 leaf clover!  

I added a simple white embossed strip on black for my sentiment (The Greetery's Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You) to finish off my card.

This challenge is still open till the 24th, so check out all the inspiration and play along with us right HERE...we'd love to see YOU in the gallery!!

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

The Flower Challenge #42 - Anything Goes

Hello friends.  Playing with The Flower Challenge today where this month ANYTHING GOES.

I love ANYTHING GOES challenges when it involves flowers, as it's one of my favorite images to use on a card!  And one of my favorite flower images right now is The Greetery's Botanicuts: Lily...

I've been intrigued lately by some of the beautiful cards using Polychromos Pencils, but have hesitated because of the cost...well I finally broke down and ordered a set and used them on the Lily's.  It probably sounds goofy, but they remind me of Copics in the smooth way they color on your cardstock...very easy to work with!  Here's a closer up to see the Lily's better...

After coloring I used an air tool to add the splattered dots on the Lily's...love that look.  I also used the following stamp sets and dies from The Greetery on this card: Postal Frame Dies, Signed & Sealed, and Pretty Postmarks.  The little bird is from PTI's Brushed Birds.  Most of my inking was done with Tea Dye Distress Ink (TH) and Mango Melody (SU!).  A little bit of jute twine and a few champagne colored jewels finished off my card.

You can check out all the beautiful inspiration from the DT and play along right HERE.  

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

Twofer Challenge #25 - SPRING ANIMALS

Hello friends.  This month at the Twofer Challenge it's all about SPRING ANIMALS!

So many sweet little critters that are born in the Springtime, so choose one and play along with us this month...we'd love to see you in the gallery!  I used an oldie but a goody stamp set from My Favorite Things called Ewe Are the Best and came up with these two cards...

I used 2 of the little sheep images from this set to come up with a birthday card and a thank you card.

I used MFT's Blueprint Sketch Dies #27 to cut my scalloped layer (PTI's Harvest Gold DSP) and also the layer with the squares and rectangle.  I used the smaller sheep image for the 3 squares and did a little Copic coloring on them before masking them off and blending ink (Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold, & Lovely Lady inks) over the backgrounds.  For the rectangle I used the larger sheep image and did the same light Copic coloring before masking him off and then stamping and clear embossing the little grassy hill image and the sentiment, and then ink blending the background with Spring Rain ink.

I love the punny sentiments in this set with the word EWE!  Finished by adding the squares and rectangle back into the white die cut frame, and then adhering to the scalloped layer and a white card base.  I also added some dashed lines to the smaller sheep to make it look like they were bouncing with joy to be celebrating a birthday!  I think this card will make an adorable young child's birthday card!

My thank you card uses the same two sheep images and I stamped them along the inside edge of my card, and then used an edger die (PTI's To The Point Edger Dies II) to cut off the bottom edge of the top layer of my card base.  I used the same die to cut a piece of striped DSP to cover the top layer and then added my sentiment that was stamped on a white circle die cut and layered to a red scalloped die cut.

Here's a closer up so you can see that I punched a hole in each side of the scalloped circle to thread some red & white baker's twine through and tied around the top layer of the card.  I added some tiny red die cut hearts to all the sheep to continue the pop of red on the black & white card...one of my favorite color combo's!!  :0)

And just because it seemed like a fun thing to do, I stamped more of the small baby sheep on the back of my card too, along with the deviant one who doesn't want to follow Momma's directions to stay in line!  You know there's one in every bunch!!

So there you have my 2 DIFFERENT cards for DIFFERENT occasions (birthday & thank you) using a SPRING ANIMAL.  Check out what the rest of the DT came up with for this challenge (just to warn you, it's CUTENESS overload!!) and play along right HERE.  Remember this challenge is open till the 24th...we can't wait to see YOU in the gallery!!

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

The Stencil Challenge March 2020 - Anything Goes

Hello friends.  Playing with a new to me challenge over at The Stencil Challenge, where this month it's ANYTHING GOES!

This all started for me after seeing Nancy's BEAUTIFUL stenciled card HERE, and of course I had to go to the store to get the stencil Nancy used, and you know what happens next, right??!!  Yep, found all kinds of beautiful stencils and they flew right into my shopping cart!  Thanks Nancy!!  (I was SO impressed with the speed in which my order was shipped too...thank you, thank you!!)  So anyway, my card today uses the BLOOMDALASCOPIC1 stencil and here's what I came up with:

This card actually started out as just a trial run to see what it would look like, and I loved it so much that it went right into a card!  I used Pixie Spray to lightly tack the back of the stencil and then used my blender brushes and some Gina K inks over the off center stencil (I really need to make a square card next time so I can use the whole stencil).  I trimmed my stenciled layer to 5 1/4" x 4" and then attached to a white card base.

My sentiment was stamped using Altenew's Best Sentiments and attached with foam tape for a bit of dimension.  I thought about adding some bling at this point, but really just loved the CAS look with all the beautifully blended colors...the stencil truly did all the work on this card!

The DT has some absolutely GORGEOUS cards as inspiration for you, so check it out and play along with this challenge right HERE.  And maybe go shopping too...SOOOOOO many beautiful stencils at STAMPLORATIONS!!

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

CAS Christmas March 2020 - Winter Flower

Hello friends.  Playing along with this month's challenge over at CAS Christmas where my sweet friend Colleen is hosting, and she would like to see Winter Flowers on our Christmas cards.

I have oodles of Poinsettia stamps, but thought I would go in a different direction, and maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm going to call these Beautiful Berries: Winter a Winter Flower...

I hadn't used this lovely set from Papertrey Ink in quite awhile and inked up the greenery in Ocean Tides and Pine Feather inks and the berries in Autumn Rose and Scarlett Jewel inks.  The sentiment is part of the Beautiful Berries: Winter stamp set and I inked that up in the Pine Feather ink.

I used a Spellbinders Hemstitched die to add a little interest and frame around the berry branch, and then layered a piece of Pine Feather cs behind the hemstitched panel before adhering to a white card base, and then finished with a few clear sequins.  Quick and easy and very CAS!

You can check out what the DT has to show for inspiration and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

CAS Watercolour March 2020 - Luck Of The Irish

Hello friends.  Time for a new challenge at CAS Watercolour, and this month Julia is our hostess and she would like to see some LUCK OF THE IRISH on our cards!

This was a bit of a challenge for me because even though I have a wee bit o Irish in me, I don't own a single Shamrock, Leprechaun, or even a pot of gold stamp!  I do have several gnome stamps though, and even improvised a bit with some shamrocks, and came up with this card...

After stamping this image (SugarPea Designs - Gnome For Christmas) on heavy weight cardstock and then clear embossing, I water colored him using my Zigs and then popped him on a scrap of DSP I found in my pile.  I framed him out using MFT's Peek-A-Boo rectangle die and then went to work on the shamrocks using 4 tiny hearts (die cut from Impression Obsession DIE052-I) glued to a thin strip for a stem.  I thought about water coloring them with my green Zigs, but in the end decided to leave them white...artistic license and all that!!

Pretty simple card but I kinda like how it turned out!  I left the sentiment off as I'm not sure if I'll actually use this for a St. Patrick's Day card or something else.  Make sure you check out what Julia and the rest of the DT came up with for inspiration for you (and our special GD's too), and then play along with us!  You can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th and remember to keep it CAS and to also have FUN!!

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

MFT Sketch Challenge #478

Hello friends.  Had some time to play with the latest Sketch Challenge over at My Favorite Things...

I've been loving these sketch challenges for a couple reasons lately.  One, they help me get out of my rut in making the same layout/design every time, and two, they give me a reason to start using all these wonderful MFT stamps that I HAVE to have!  Here's what I came up with using the Pure Innocence Bookworm stamp and die...

Isn't she a cutie sitting on her pile of books?!  Reminds me of myself when I was young and used to come home from the library with a pile of books each time...yep, I was a bookworm and still am!!  I colored her up with my Copics except for her shirt which was paper pieced from the 6 x 6 Candy Land paper pack.  The striped paper is also from the Candy Land pack.

I did a partial die cut and only used the die to cut the books so that the rest of the little girl remained on the rectangle piece, where I also added the sentiment and a few enamel dots.  I used fun foam on the back of the rectangle piece to give some dimension and also pop dotted the little bookworm.

You can find all the details to play along with this challenge right HERE...there's a $50 gift certificate up for grabs each week too! :0)

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