Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #93

Hello friends.  Still in Christmas mode this week and playing along with the Peace On Earth Christmas challenge.

My sweet friend Michele gifted me an early Christmas gift of Simon Hurley's (Spellbinders) Playful Penguins die set, and they were just too CUTE not to play with right away!!  There's 3 penguins in the set and here's what I came up with using just 2 of them...

 Aren't they cuties?!!  I love the little guy on the left with his Rudolph nose and antlers...totally melts my heart!!  After die cutting from scraps and piecing them together, I added them to the background I made using a PFS stencil called Wintry Forest and residual ink on my turquoise blending brush.  

 It's not real clear in my photos, but I also added a white embossed ice chunk (MFT) to ground them and also make it look like the bottom of the card is a lake.  I did add foam tape behind the penguins for a bit of dimension and then finished with a sentiment from PB's yuletide wishes.  

I will definitely be playing with this set again and also using that 3rd penguin, so thank you again Michele for gifting me this FUN set!!  The gals over at the Peace On Earth challenge have some awesome inspiration to share with you, so check it out and play along.  This challenge is open till Thursday, August 14th @ 8:00PM.

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #101 - Let's Wreath It Up

Hello friends.  Still very HOT & HUMID in my neck of the woods, so I'm going to try and stay cool with Christmas cards this week.  The Christmas Kickstart Challenge is looking for WREATHS this time around and I have a PFS stencil set that hasn't seen ink in quite a while, so...

Using the Thrill of Hope Wreath stencil set, here's what I came up with...

After stenciling the wreath in greens and eggplant inks, it still looked a little plain to me, so I ran it through with a SB's embossing folder called Holiday Floral Swag that has empty space in the middle and seemed like it would be perfect for the wreath.  I love how that worked out!!

I added my sentiment using PFS's Christmas Sentiments stamp & die set (die cutting 3 times for a little extra dimension) with the eggplant ink to coordinate with the berries.  A few Disco Ball Sequins (Gina K) and a piece of eggplant ribbon from my stash finished off my card.

If you need to add to your Christmas stash, or even get started, check out Jo and her guest elf Greta's cards for a little inspiration, and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, August 31st.    

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

Bee Happy

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with a couple challenges today...the DD - Bee Happy Challenge and the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.  The DD challenge is obviously about Bee's and Kim from FMS's has a wonderful postage sketch to follow, so I combined the two.

And here's what I came up with combining the two challenges...

I'm a BIG fan of WF's Postage Collage stencils, stamps, and dies, and think there's only a couple of the many, many sets they have that I don't own!  For this card I used the die that cuts out the grid of postage stamps and then colored just 3 of them using the Postage Collage Coloring Stencil (for the gray & white stripe stamp) and the Postage Collage Rose Stencil for the other 2 stamps.  I then cut them apart for the individual stamps and layed them out in the sketch pattern on my card base.  

I also added a die cut honeycomb piece from SU!'s Honey Bee set, along with a large and smaller bee also from the same SU! set.  I used WOS on the bees wings, but obviously does not show up on my card.  The top right stamp has foam tape behind it for a little dimension, and also the sentiment strip from Gina K's All At Once Greetings.  Pretty CAS and I love the way this one turned out!

Lots of great inspiration from both DT's to get your mojo started, and you can check out the DD Challenge right HERE and the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge HERE.  The DD Challenge is open till Sunday, Aug. 17th @ 8:00PM and the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge is open till Monday, Aug. 11th @ 3:00PM.

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

Christmas in July with Michele 2025

Hello friends.  Michele and I finally got together last week (while it was still July!) to do our annual Christmas in July and had a blast stamping, stenciling, laughing, chatting and eating together.  It never gets old, does it my friend?!  I have 4 cards to share with you today, so let's get started!

  I had a brand new set from Altenew called Festive Triangles that Michele and I both had fun with, and here's what I came up with.  Actually this is a bit of a CASE from a card that Laura Bassen did...I just changed up my colors a bit. I think what hooked me was the sentiment stamped right over the stamped triangles...perfect for an almost one layer card!

Michele brought her The Snow Notes dies (SB) for me to play with...I just LOVE these caroling snow dudes!!  My background was embossed with an OLD SU! ef called Winter Snow, and then I added the snow dudes with their polka dotted scarves using dsp from PTI.  Michele also brought her Skinny Ric Rac die (also PTI) and I cut one from red to outline my festive carolers. Aren't they just the cutest?!!

My 3rd card features a set of stencils from PFS called Holiday Botanical Background that I stenciled with shades of greens and then added different sized Ruby gems (PFS) for the berries.  (It SHINES a lot more in real life!!!)  The die cut sentiment is from a set that Michele stamped and die cut for me from a WF set and fit perfectly in the center of this stenciled frame.  

Michele had made a post (HERE) using those cute snow dudes and this wonderful dsp that she was kind enough to bring me some of to play with, so I got busy with this little cutie from Cottage Cutz (Winter Snowman) and die cut his hat and scarf from one of the polka dotted papers. I used a PTI die (Bold Borders: Polka Dots Die) and one of the backsides of the dsp that was a solid pink to create a frame for my snowman and used another piece of the dsp for the center rectangle.  I just LOVE pink & red together and this dsp puts them together just beautifully!  The sentiment is another from the WF set that Michele stamped and die cut for me.  

So there you have my additions to my Christmas card stash, and I even have a few more in the works that I'll post at a later date!  Took me a while this year to get going on my Christmas cards, but now that I've started, I'm back to being hooked!  I love making all kinds of cards, but I really think Christmas card making is my favorite!  Make sure you check out Michele's post (HERE) to see what she made using some of the same products...I know she'll blow us all away as usual!!  And thanks Michele for the yummy lemon pie you brought for dessert...it was SOOOOOO good!!  And of course for sharing your goodies to play with!  I love our get togethers and friendship...it's the best!!

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

The Flower Challenge #105 - Add Embellishments

Hello friends.  A new month and time for a new challenge here at The Flower Challenge, where this month we're looking for you to add EMBELLISHMENTS to your FLORAL cards.

Since I add embellishments to just about every card I make, this was an easy challenge for me!  Using products from The Greetery, here's what I came up with...

The Greetery just celebrated their 6th birthday and sent a freebie with each order, and this little cup/vase was the starting point for my birthday card.  I cut it from Honey Nut cs (PTI) and ink blended it a bit for some shading and dimension, and then filled it with flowers from the Best Bouquet Details dies using cream colored cs and ink blending with pinks for the blooms and greens for the leaves.  I framed out the cup/vase with The Greetery's A2 Stitched Scallops Die and the Sweetest Frame stamp & die.

I added everything to a cream colored card base and then finished with a birthday greeting on the cup/vase and a few PINK GEMS (PFS) for my embellishments.  

The DT has awesome cards to inspire you to use your embellishments on your cards, and we can't wait to see you all in the gallery!  You can check it out right HERE to play along.  This challenge is open till Monday, Aug. 25th @ 9:00AM. 
  

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

Color Hues #115 - PINK & GREY

Hello friends.  Happy August and welcome to another challenge here at Color Hues where our sweet hostess Carol has chosen the color pairing of PINK & GREY for the next two weeks.

I love this color pairing and went back to one of my first purchases at PFS (years ago!) and brought out the Daisy Wreath to play with.  Take a look...

I foiled the outline of the wreath with the coordinating foil plate from the Daisy Wreath set using SB's Speckled Prism Foil and then used the matching stencils to add my pinks and greys.  My background was also stenciled using PFS's Simple Plaid Stencil and grey ink.  

 I finished with an embossed sentiment on grey cs using Gina K's All At Once Greetings, a couple pink gemstones, and a piece of white & silver baker's twine. 

The DT and our Special GD Arlene have some awesome cards to share with you for inspiration, and you can check them all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Thursday, Aug. 14th @ 9:00AM. 
 

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

Winter Wishes

Hello friends.  Have a fun little card to cool you down today, and playing along with the new Freshly Made Sketches challenge and also the Peace On Earth Christmas challenge.

I started with a Tim Holtz die set called Winter Wishes and die cut the snowman and snowflake from white and Spring Rain (PTI) cardstock, and then antiquing them both a little with some residual brown ink left on my blending brush.  Tim always makes everything look vintage, so that's where the inspiration from using the brown ink came from. Take a look...

I added that sweet little snowman (Don't you just love that face?!  He looks a little confused...) and snowflake to a bookmark (Gina K - Beautiful Bookmarks) that I stamped with Crumb Cake ink using a retired SU! background stamp called En Francais.  I also added some blending around the edges of the bookmark to keep with the antique/vintage look.

I ran a panel of white cs through SSS's Icy Snowflakes embossing folder and then lightly ran a Spring Rain ink cube across the raised edges of the snowflakes.  I also added more brown ink to the outside edges to keep with the antique/vintage look before adding the panel to a Spring Rain card base.  I added foam tape behind the bookmark and the snowman to add a little dimension, and then finished with a bit of ribbon & twine and a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K).

There are lots of fabulous examples using this sketch from the DT that you can find HERE to play along with Freshly Made Sketches (challenge ends Monday, July 28th @ 3:00PM), and if you're into SNOWMEN like I am, then you can find all kinds of inspiration HERE from the talented DT, and this challenge ends Thursday, July 31st @ 8:00PM. 

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

Christmas Kickstart #100 - SPOTS, DOTS & CIRCLES

Hello friends.  It couldn't feel less like Christmas outside (more 90's today in my neck of the woods!), but I couldn't let Jo's 100th challenge over at the Christmas Kickstart blog go by without playing along, especially since it involves SPOTS, DOTS & CIRCLES!! 

I've got a SWEET little card to share using a new to me die from Cottage Cutz called Santa Cupcake that I was enabled to buy after hearing about the BIG sale at The Scrapping Cottage from Leslie...thanks Leslie!!

Doesn't Santa look so CUTE perched on top of that yummy looking chocolate cupcake?!!  I die cut all the pieces from cardstock scraps including the cupcake liner, which came from PTI's Pure Poppy Pattern Pack DSP.  I used a CIRCLE die to make an opening on my background layer that was also embossed with an older Cuttlebug ef with lots of DOTS.

This closeup shows a bit more detail including all the glitter and my SWEET die cut sentiment (The Greetery - Sweet Tooth).  Also added a sub-sentiment that was embossed in white on a black strip (Gina K).  Pretty simple but colorful and pretty cute IMHO!

If you need to get a kickstart on those Christmas cards, this challenge is a great place to start and you can find all the info to play along right HERE.  Congrats on this BIG milestone challenge Jo and a big thank you too for helping us all keep ahead with our Christmas cards!!  :0)

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

PEACE*LOVE*JOY

Hello friends.  Even though it's July and hot, hot, HOT, I am still plugging away at Christmas cards this month!  A lot of the online stores are having great sales on Christmas in July stamps, and I recently picked up a few things at great prices from Papertrey Ink, including the Vase Collection #12 stamp and die set.  I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and colors from the Peace On Earth Challenge to come up with this...

It was that milk can vase that pulled me in for this set, and also the simplicity of the greenery and berries!  And I love, LOVE the detail on that bow!  Here's a closer up:

My berries are looking a little smeared, and that's because they are!  I thought adding a little WOS to make the berries sparkle would be a great idea, until I remembered that WOS and RED don't mix...grrrrr!!  And of course they were already glued down, so it is what it is!  I die cut a 5 1/4" by 4" panel with an oval die and then used SSS's Holiday Greenery EF and layered it to a panel of Boho Blue cs and a white card base.  I did use foam tape behind the embossed layer and then replaced the oval piece and built my arrangement inside the oval.  I finished with a sentiment embossed in white on a strip of the Boho Blue cs using PTI's Christmas Blessings stamp set and also added a few red gems from PFS.  Other than the smeared red berries, I'm really pleased with the way this card came out!

You can find all the details to play along with the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge here, and this challenge is open till Monday, July 21st @ 3:00PM.

I'm also adding this card to the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge where I was inspired by the red, white, & blue color scheme on their mood board.  This challenge is only open till tonight (July 17th @ 8:00PM), so if you want to play along, you need to be quick!!

 And one last challenge to add to is NBUS #76 since this is a brand new stamp set to me, although I believe the set has been out for quite awhile!

 

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

Color Hues #114 - YELLOW & GREEN

Hello friends.  Hard to believe the Summer is half over already, isn't it?!  Been a HOT one in my neck of the woods, and while I am ready for some cooler temps, I'm not ready for Summer to be over!  Our sweet hostess Bonnie has chosen a wonderful summer pairing here at Color Hues and would like to see YELLOW & GREEN on our cards.

My first thought was florals, so that's what I went with using an older stencil from The Ton called Wild Spray Stencil.  Take a look...

It's just a small stencil that fits so perfectly in the corner of your card and leaves plenty of "white space" for a CAS card.  Once I finished stenciling, I used SU!'s Subtle EF to give a little texture to the panel and then mounted it to a black layer and a white card base.  

My sentiment is from Honey Bee's Bitty Buzzwords stamps and dies, and then I finished with just a few Gina K Disco Ball Sequins.  

The DT and our Special GD Von Marie have some BEAUTIFUL inspiration for you right HERE, so check it out and play along with us!  This challenge is open till Tuesday, July 29th @ 9:00AM.

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

The Flower Challenge #104 - Be Inspired by our Colors

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with us at The Flower Challenge where we're looking for you to be inspired by the colors in this photo...

And here's what I came up with using these colors...

My sweet friend Michele challenged me to use WF's Flower Focal Die for this reminder post, since she had used it the last time she was here using the colors in this challenge.  Make sure you check out what she did with these same flower dies!!  For my card I die cut the flowers and their centers 3 times and then ink blended the coral & turquoise colors onto them.  I die cut a circle into my top layer and then used SSS's Feather Spiral EF and lightly inked up the raised parts with residual ink from my turquoise blending brush.

I arranged my trio of blooms and leaves around the left side of the circle and then finished with a few iridescent gems (SU!) and a sentiment from SB's A Little Message Sentiments Pressplate.  I also added WOS to the flower centers.  A pretty busy card for me, but I still like the way it turned out!

The DT has lots of wonderful inspiration for you that you can find right HERE, so check it all out and then play along with us...we can't wait to see what YOU come up with using these colors!  This challenge is open till Friday, July 25th @ 5:00PM.

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

Double D Flower Pots Challenge

Hello friends.  Getting in under the wire, just a quick post today to play along with the gals over at the Double D Challenge where they are looking for Flower Pots.

One of my favorite sets from The Greetery (yes, I have MANY favorites!!) that I haven't played with since last year is their BotaniCuts: Geranium.  It's a fun and easy die set that when coupled with their Pretty Pot Die looks just like the pots of Geraniums that I put out in our front porch.

 I die cut the pot from kraft cs and inked the edges up a bit and then added the Geraniums (Cherry Cobbler cs) and leaves (Mossy Meadow cs) with a bit of extra inking on them too.  My card size is 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" and I added a piece of kraft dsp (PTI) to the bottom third, and a piece of kraft that I embossed with HB's Dogwood Blooms 3D and lightly went over the top with a white ink cube to make the flowers stand out a bit more.

I added a piece of seam binding ribbon where the two background pieces meet, and then arranged my flower pot and Geraniums on top.  I did add a bit of glitter to the Geraniums for a little sparkle and I'm not sure if I'm liking that addition, but a little late to change it now!  I left a sentiment off as I'm not sure which occasion I'll use this card for.

The DT has some absolutely BEAUTIFUL examples using FLOWER POTS that you can check out right HERE if you'd like to play along.  You'll have to be quick though as this challenge ends Sunday, July 13th @ 8:00PM.

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