Two Days of Stamping FUN with Michele

Hello friends.  Michele and I were FINALLY able to get together last month (October) at my house and then again last week at Michele's house for some stamping FUN!!  This is a pretty picture heavy post, so sit back with a cuppa of your favorite and see what we both got into last month and last week!

Last month we played with The Greetery's Wildwood Bouquet stencils and embossing folder. It's a 5x7 card, so a big one! I stenciled first and then lined up with the embossing folder. To finish I added a few die cut flowers (dies were included in this bundle) for some dimension and were pop dotted next to my gold embossed sentiment.

You can see the embossing a bit better in this close up.  I'm still dragging my feet on these larger size cards, but they sure do seem to be popular lately! But anyway, I like the way this one turned out!

Michele brought this stencil and die set and of course I forgot to write down the name and maker, but I think it might be Spellbinder's?.  They're cute, but not my favorite...wish I had used different colors!

I absolutely LOVE the way these 2 turned out!  Michele gifted me with the embossing folder after falling in love with it after seeing Donna Mikasa use it. (There's no name on the packaging, just that it's from Europe...maybe Michele knows??) Michele also had a new stash of Memory Box dies that she shared last week that included Wyatt (on the left) and that silly duck is Cozy Quaker also from Memory Box.  The Oh Joy sentiment is from SU!'s Watercolor Christmas and the Merry & Bright is from PB's Yuletide Wishes.

I had brought this Kristina Werner 6x9 stencil set (Ornamental Christmas) to Michele's last week and we stenciled together. I love that you get 2 cards from the one larger piece. I finished mine with Kristina's A2 Thin Frame dies, the Merry Christmas from Waffle Flower and the snowflake also from WF.

Same thing as previous cards, just different colors.  So easy to make and since I've been way behind on my cards this year, it was a no brainer to make another set!  YAY for another 2 for the Christmas stash!!

I had also brought Unity's Mouse on a Merry Mission stamp set to Michele's last week and had fun putting these together!  I colored them up with my Copics and then decided I needed to start using some of the dsp I've been hoarding for years and years and years. Both of the papers are from SU!.

Made a gate fold card with this one and the dsp is from PTI. I also used an old Cuttlebug embossing folder with swirls that reminded me of snow swirling around on the checkered and dotted dsp, although my photos only really show it on the dotted dsp. The framed piece is from PFS's Notched Corner Frames. Finished with a twine bow.

  Michele let me play with her Altenew CYL Expressive Flora set and I just love the way the panel turned out!  I love stencils that let you color the background a different color, and this one definitely did!! The panel when you're finished is about a 6x6 size, so I was able to make 2 cards from the one panel.  The whole set comes with stencils, stamps, dies, and a embossing folder too, which I used on the thank you card. The sentiments are die cut from HB's Bitty Buzzwords stamps and die set.

Phew!! Are you still with me?!  I know, I know...it was a looooong post!  Michele and I hadn't stamped together since early last Spring though (busy with my 94 year old mom), so we had lots of catching up to do!  As always, we had fun chatting, hugging, laughing, eating (chili at my house and potato soup at Micheles) and of course creating!  It was SO good to get together again!  Thanks as always for sharing your goodies with me and for the cool, cool embossing folder Michele...I so appreciate it!  Make sure you check out Michele's post to see all her cards, as I know she'll blow you away with her awesome creativity!!  And thanks again for sticking with me on this long post!!

 

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #116

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they have a FUN one this month with cats and dogs...

My family have always been dog lovers and especially my brother, so this challenge worked out perfectly to make his Christmas card.  I started out with Cottage Cutz's Puppy Carolers die and came up with this...

Aren't they just the cutest yappers?!  I die cut the pups from kraft, black & white cs and then ink blended a bit on the kraft and white ones. Their scarves were cut from red, green and kraft scraps and then added a little detail with a white gel pen.

I worked on my background next and started with a piece of Starry Sky (SU!) cs and ink blended around the edges and then splattered white and gold acrylic paints on it.  Next I sprayed it with some gold Sheer shimmer Spritz spray, and boy does this background SHINE!

 I'm hoping you can really see the sparkle and shine in this close up...it really is so pretty!!  To finish I arranged the 3 pups on the card and added a Fa-la-la-la-la sentiment from SB's The Snow Notes die set and a couple music notes from Lawn Fawn's Little Music Notes die set.  I think my brother will get a kick out of this one!!

You can check out Jo and her guest elf Gail's cards right HERE and then play along...this challenge is open till the end of the month!

 

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

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #123

Hello friends!  Just a little heads up that most of my cards from now to the end of December will be Christmas cards...because, well, that's what happens when you don't get started on next year's cards right away in January!  I got lazy the first part of this last year, and then things kind of got crazy with my mom moving and then falling multiple times, so I'm trying to play catch up.  Mom is doing a lot better (well except for memory!) though, and that is leaving me with a bit more time to catch up. Now if I can just get them all mailed out on time...

I digress and you're wondering where the Christmas card is! I loved the new mood board over at the Peace On Earth challenge site with the cute snowmen...

And I just happen to have a new stamp set (snow buddies) from Unity stamps that I bought last month when they had a sale and hadn't used it yet, so here's its debut...

Such a simple image, but so darn CUTE!!  Don't ya just LOVE the tiny little snowman in front of the larger one?!  Totally melts my heart!  I did minimal coloring with my Copics and a Jelly Roll pen for the little dotted snowflakes. I used a SSS Icy Snowflakes ef for my background and then die cut my stamped image with a SU! circle die and added a scalloped circle die cut in black behind it.

I finished my card by matting the embossed layer to a black layer and both those to a white card base, and then adding a pre-printed strip sentiment from Gina K. 

Lots of great inspiration from the DT that you can find right HERE and then play along to get those Christmas cards finished up!  This challenge is open till Thursday, Nov. 12th @ 8:00PM.

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

CAS Christmas Nov. 2026 - REINDEER

Hello friends.  I'm excited to be Guest Designing for the CAS Christmas Challenge, where this month they are looking for REINDEER.

 I have lots of deer stamps and dies, and some silly reindeer stamps, but the card I had in mind didn't fit silly. So then I started wondering what the difference is between a regular deer and a reindeer was...google to the rescue.  Only male deer have antlers and both male and female reindeer have antlers, and reindeer are generally smaller.  Here's what I came up with...

I started by masking off all 4 edges of my white card panel with washi tape, and then lightly blended the center with Stormy Sky DOX ink. (I also used the moon shape stamp with versamark ink in the upper left corner before I started ink blending the background. I used my heat tool to speed up the drying process a bit and then did a little water splattering to look like snow.  Once the whole panel was dry, I stamped the tree, reindeer, and bird (PTI's Winter Wonder stamp set) in Versafine Black Onyx ink to give the silhouette look, and then carefully removed the washi tape so I would have clean white borders.

To finish I stamped my sentiment from Gina K's Holiday Silhouettes stamp set and added a red gem to the reindeer's nose for a bit of whimsy and so you didn't think I was just showing a regular deer.  Easy peasy and I love the way it turned out!!

Make sure you check out all the wonderful inspiration from the DT right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till the end of the month and is a great way to finish up on those Christmas cards...Christmas will be here before we know it!  
  

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

Color Hues #144 - RED & GREEN

Hello friends.  Can you believe it's November 1st already?! Where has this year gone?!!  We have a new challenge for you here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Bonnie is looking for RED & GREEN cards.  They don't have to be Christmas if you have all your cards done already...you just do you!!

I had fun with this color combo and a new stencil set from Kristina Werner & Concord & 9th called Ornamental Christmas.  It's one of those 6 x 9 stencil sets that makes enough for 2 A2 size cards, and here's what I came up with...

I used reds and greens from Concord & 9th and then Delicata Gold ink for the last stencil.  For this 1st card I added my panel to a Cherry Cobbler card base and also added a skinny frame (also Kristina Werner) that I die cut from Cherry Cobbler also.

I finished this card with a stamped and die cut sentiment from PFS's Christmas Sentiments and a few gold metallic pearls also from PFS.

My 2nd card is pretty much a CASE of Kristina's card.  I cut down the other half of the A2 panel to fit on the left hand side of a horizontal card base and also added some white ric rak I had in my stash to the 2 sides.  My sentiment from PB's Yuletide Wishes was embossed in white on the right hand side of the card base.

I rounded all 4 corners of this card and then called it good...it really didn't need anything else!

And here they both are together.  Do you have a favorite?  I like them both equally well and can't wait to try out some other color combinations with these stencils! 

The DT and our Special GD Vikki H. all have some absolutely beautiful cards to share with you HERE to inspire you to play along with us.  This challenge is open till Saturday, Nov. 14th @ 9:00AM.

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

Freshly Made Sketches #760

Hello friends.  Playing along with Jen B. over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge using her awesome sketch on a diagonal...

Fun, right?!  I deviated a little bit with the sketch, but I think you'll still be able to see it...

I used an oldie but goodie from The Greetery called BotaniCuts: Mighty Oak and die cut all the pieces from kraft cs and then ink blended over them.  Next I embossed my background panel using SSS's Falling Leaves ef and then cut it on the diagonal.

I matted my embossed panel with kraft cs and adhered both a white card base.  Next I glued down my branch and leaves and popped up the smaller acorn with a dimensional.  At this point I sprayed the whole card with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle spray and when the light hits this card it REALLY SPARKLES!! My sentiment is from a Spellbinder's impression plate set.  One of my easier cards to make and I really like how it turned out!

LOTS of beautiful inspiration from the DT that you can find right HERE to play along.  This challenge is open till Monday, Nov. 2nd @ 3:00PM.

  

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

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #122

Hello friends.  The Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge is featuring jolly ole St. Nick on their mood board, and I just happen to have a card with the man himself!

Michele and I had had a playday together a few weeks ago and she left SB's Cocoa Wonderland dies for me to play with, and I came up with this...

This jolly old fellow in mug formation is much brighter IRL, but I think you get the idea!  Lots of pieces to die cut, but a lot of fun to put together.  I used mostly scraps of SU! cs and did just a smidge of blending on his mustache and the edges of the whipped cream that you can't really see because of the trees, ornament and gift.

Once Santa was all put together, I added him to a background that was embossed on Real Red cs with SSS's Snowflake Visions ef and a top folding white card base.  My sentiment (from a Gina K set) was embossed in white on a black strip and added with foam tape like the Santa mug for some dimension.  This card was a lot of fun to put together, and the only hard part was keeping track of all the little pieces on my desk!  And THANKS Michele for letting me borrow this set!! :0)

Lots of wonderful Santa images from the DT and you can check them all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till this Thursday, Oct. 29th @ 8:00PM. 

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

CAS Christmas & CAS Mix Up - October 2026

Hello friends.  Sharing a Christmas card today for both the CAS Christmas Challenge and the CAS Mix Up Challenge. 

I used an older Tim Holtz Poinsettia ef and used the blackout technique to combine the two challenges and came up with this...

I love this technique because you don't have to be too careful with your inking of the main image and it still comes out looking great!  After embossing the image on a piece of white cs, I flipped it over (using the de-bossed side) and added color using my mini brushes to the Poinsettia flowers and leaves with Gina K inks.  It looked like a hot mess at this point!  Then the magic happens when you run your black ink pad over the panel and it only inks up the flat surfaces.

 I cut my image down to leave a lot of white space, and then added a thin matte gold frame from Kristina Werner (A2 Thin Frame Dies) and embossed my sentiment strip on black with gold embossing powder, using Gina K's All At Once Christmas Greetings.  So simple and I love the way it turned out!  And one more for the Christmas stash too...YAY!!

Both of these challenges are open till Saturday, October 31st. 

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

Two Old Bats #2 - VINNY

Hello friends.  Finished my last Halloween card and this one is for my youngest grandson Isaiah whose dog's name is Vinny.  Vinny is a bulldog, and although many of that breed are feared and labeled dangerous, Isaiah's Vinny is nothing more than an overweight marshmallow who would just as soon eat or sleep or lick you rather than be a wild thing! When Spellbinder's first came out with their Woof-or-Treat dies, I had to have them for Isaiah's first Halloween. When Isaiah was 2, the Pupkin dies came out, and this year it was the Buzzy Pup-Bee dies, all featuring a bulldog that looks just like Vinny!  I decided to use all 3 of the pups for this year's card for Isaiah...

   The pup in the center is the newest die and he's on a wobbler and totally looks like he's buzzing around when you tap on him!  The dogs were all cut from kraft cs and then their outfits were all cut from scraps.

The pups were all placed on a background that I embossed with an older SU! spider web folder and black cs and then ran a white pigment ink pad lightly over the raised parts of the web so they'd stand out a bit more. The sentiment is from The Greetery and I finished the card with black enamel dots for the pups eyes and one on sentiment banner, and also some WOS on the skull and pumpkin treat containers.  LOVE the way this card turned out!!

I will be adding this card to the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge (my 2nd entry) and also to Darnell's NBUS Challenge as the Buzzy Pup-Bee has never been used.

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

Color Hues #143 - ORANGE & BLACK

Hello friends.  It's the middle of October and that means it's time for a new challenge here at Color Hues.  Our hostess for this round is the sweet Tracey and she would like to see ORANGE & BLACK on our cards.  Sounds like Halloween to me and that's the direction I went!!

While Halloween is the way I went, you can go any direction you want with this color pairing...as long as you remember to stick with these two colors (neutrals are acceptable).  Here's what I came up with...

I started by blending my background with DOX inks...Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade & Carved Pumpkin.  I did add a small die cut circle with temporary adhesive on the back to my panel before I started ink blending to look like the full moon was out.  Next, I stamped in black using two Lavinia sets called Small Trees & Forest Scene on the left and right sides and then stamped the trick or treaters from SU!'s Scary Cute also in black to create my silhouetted scene.

 To finish I added my sentiment (also from SU!'s Scary Cute set) and a few flying bats and then sprayed the whole panel with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spray before adding it to a white card base.   

The DT and our Special GD Annette have all outdone themselves with cards to inspire you to play along and you can check it all out right HERE. This challenge is open till Thursday, Oct. 29th @ 9:00AM. Join in the FUN...we can't wait to see what YOU create using these two colors!! 

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