Back in the Saddle

Hi friends!  I’m squeaking in under the wire to enter my card for the sketch challenge #353 with My Favorite Things this week.  I made this card on Saturday while I was at Crafty Day with my friends, and realized I needed to get it photographed and uploaded!  I have a co-worker who’s having surgery in a few weeks, and I agreed to make a card for everyone to sign.  She’s an animal lover, and a motorcyclist so I thought this card with a horse AND the saddle reference (thinking of the motorcycle seat!) would give her a chuckle!

Here’s the sketch, and as you can probably tell, I flipped it upside down.

I also got some inspiration for my design from this card by Kay Miller, also using the (retired) Farm-tastic stamp set and Die-namics from MFT.

I hope you had a nice weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #460

Hello friends!  It’s my second week of joining the Color Throwdown team again as their Guest Designer, and we have a great color combo for you today that I’m sure will spark some great creativity!

I found this combo to be just perfect because I needed to make a baby boy card…

I used the retired LJD Beautiful Baby stamp set from My Favorite Things for that sweet elephant, stamped in Blueberry dye ink.  I accented with some green gingham paper from the Farm Fresh Gingham paper pack, along with a Blueberry card stock Fishtail Flag, stamped with stars.

Please be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit the CTD team members for more inspiration…

Amy Rohl
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #459

Hello my friends!  Guess what?  I have the honor and pleasure of rejoining my Color Throwdown teammates this month as their Guest Designer!  Yay!  I’m so excited to get to play along this month and aid in inspiring you to stamp with some fun color combos!

Today, sweet Vickie is the hostess and she’s chosen a very classic color combo…

I thought some bright red flowers would be perfect for my card…

I used one of my favorite My Favorite Things stamp sets, the Bold Blooms to create my card, stamping the flowers with Wild Cherry dye ink.  Accents were stamped with Black Onyx ink, and the gray leaves were colored with a W3 Copic marker.  My sentiment was created using the Kind & Kindness Die-namics die, and the Kind Words stamps from MFT.  Behind the flowers and sentiment I added a piece of black and white polka dot paper from the Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots 6x6 paper pack, and embellished with some Sparkling Clear Mix sequins. 

Please be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit the CTD team members for more inspiration…

Amy Rohl
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy 65th!

Hello friends!  I have a quick card to share today.  A couple at our church is celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this coming week!  Isn’t that amazing and wonderful!?!?!  I can remember my grandparents celebrating their 65th the year before my grandpa passed away… it’s truly an incredible feat, especially in this day and age where more young people seem to be more interested in just throwing a big wedding, and not actually in making a marriage work! 

I found the current MFT sketch #347 to be the perfect inspiration for this card…

I used the retired High-Rise Numbers from My Favorite Things, die-cutting the numbers from gold glitter card stock, and I added a sentiment flag from Blueprints 13 that was stamped with a “HAPPY” from Essential Sentiments on Gravel Gray card stock.  Behind the numbers, I added a Black Licorice Die-Namics Stitched Dome Frames and layered a piece of vellum behind that.  I added a strip of black diagonal stripe paper from the Dots & Stripes Neutral 6x6 paper pack, and embellished with some clear rhinestones.  I die-cut the center panel with the Double Stitched Rectangle STAX, layered that on a piece of Black Licorice card stock, then adhered to my card base.

Sending tons of love, thoughts and prayers to friends in the areas affected by Hurrican Harvey right now.  I can’t imagine the devastation, and pray everyone is safe!

Hippo Bird-Day!

Hi friends!  Has anyone missed me?  I haven’t stamped in weeks!  Know how I know that?  Because I made this card on Saturday, August 5th, and that’s the last time I stamped!  My mojo is completely missing… I’d like it back, if anyone sees it!

Using the adorbs BB Happy Hippos from My Favorite Things, I made this card…

The layout was inspired by the MFT sketch #344 from way back in early August.  I never even had the time to photograph and blog it in time to enter in the challenge!  What’s UP with that???  My kids are adults… WHY don’t I have MORE time on my hands?  Oh, I know what the problem is… my hubby and I spend too much time at auctions and antique shops looking for Pyrex!  And here’s my latest acquisition… a vintage Formica and chrome kitchen table!  Isn’t it DARLING? 

Well, we’re enjoying our summer and I hope you are too!  Thanks for stopping by!

You Are So Kind

Hi friends!  I finished a card today that I started working on earlier in the week.  Made this for a friend who gave me a whole bunch of zucchini from her garden recently!

While I was already stamping the flowers for this card (the Fall Florals stamps and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things), I just stamped a bunch more of the flowers to create some extra of my ABS Cards…

There are a lot of products, so below is a list of everything I used, and you can click on them to be taken directly to the products at MFT!

You Are So Kind card
Fall Florals stamps and Fall Florals Die-Namics
Kind Words stamps and Kind & Kindness Die-Namics
BG Whimsical Woodgrain background stamp
Card stock:  Blueberry, Cotton Candy, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 110 lb.
Premium Dye inks:  Blueberry, Cotton Candy, Razzle Berry, Sour Apple, Jellybean Green, Blu Raspberry, Tropical Teal, Poppy, Daffodil, Kraft, Wild Wisteria, and Chocolate Brown
Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Mix sequins

ABS Cards include…
Background stamps:  BG Wood Plank, BG Chevron Grid, BG Distressed Stripes, and BG Small Brick 
Stamps:  Essential Sentiments, More Essential Sentiments
Die-Namics:  Peaceful Greetings, Thanks, Sending Hugs, Pierced Rectangle STAX 
Card stock:  Wild Wisteria, Sno Cone, Berrylicious, Daffodil, Blueberry, Orange Zest, Lavender Fields, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 110 lb.
Premium Dye inks:  as listed above in addition to Orange Zest and Persimmon

I think (hope!) that’s everything, but if there’s something I missed just shoot me an email!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Cheers

Hi friends!  Have you played yet with the new Distress Oxide inks?  Well, they’re not really that new… I guess they’ve been around a few months now, but I finally picked up just four colors of them this past weekend, and LOVE them!  I have had to restrain myself from buying more, though… I’m trying to curb my spending.  Raise your hand if you buy more stamps and crafting supplies then you will EVER use!?!?!  Yep, I’m raising BOTH hands!  But anyway, with just four colors to use, I’m still having fun experimenting with them.  On Sunday, I decided to use them to color these wine bottles, and made this card…

This was made for a very good wine-loving (well, she’s pretty impartial when it comes to ANY alcohol!) friend.  For the first bottle, I just used an aquabrush to apply some Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink to watercolor card stock, then just kept playing with it, spraying with water and drying until I had a neat look.  For the “green” bottle, I got creative with Fossilized Amber and Broken China Distress Oxide inks.  It didn’t turn out quite as green as I had hoped, but still created a great shade of blue, I think!  I used the Wine Service Die-namics from My Favorite Things to die-cut wine bottles, then on the purple bottle I sponged some Dusty Concord Distress ink on the left side for dimension.  And on the green-blue bottle, I sponged some Pine Needles Distress ink.  I added the Cheers die-cut from gold glitter card stock.  I added the BG Wood Plank in the background, and a miscellaneous piece of golden yellow striped designer paper, along with some Champagne sequins for embellishment.  On the inside I added a sentiment from the Uncorked stamp set.

So, cheers!  And thanks for stopping by!

Biggest Hugs

I got home from work today, and just couldn’t wait to spend some time de-stressing!  Luckily the current sketch and color challenges from My Favorite Things sparked my creativity, and here’s what I came up with…

I finally inked up the Cuddly Koalas and made this card to send to one of my aunts who’s currently staying in a nursing home.  Hopefully it’ll bring her some cheer!  I used Steel Grey hybrid ink to stamp the images, then colored with Copics.  Coral Crush, Tropical Teal, Gravel Gray, and Black Licorice card stocks along with the Subtle Plaid 6x6 paper pack and some enamel dots completed my design.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and thanks for stopping by!

Hello Blooms

Hi friends!  I hope you’re having a great weekend!  It’s been a gorgeous day here in Northeast Ohio, and I spent some of it doing some stamping.  (And will finish the day with THE. BEST. FIREWORKS. IN. THE. STATE! tonight!)

Here’s a card I made today using the fun Modern Blooms and Mini Modern Blooms stamp sets and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things

My sentiment is from the You Give Me Butterflies stamp set, and I also used the BG Small Brick and BG Bold Diagonal Stripes background stamps.  Dies used include the Stitched Dome Frames, and Blueprints 12.  Inks used include Sour Apple, Jellybean Green, Gumdrop Green, Summer Splash, Blu Raspberry, Razzle Berry, Cotton Candy, Orange Zest and Persimmon.  I also used the Dots & Stripes Confection paper pack and some Sparkling Clear Sequins for embellishment.

My layout was inspired by the current MFT Sketch Challenge shown here…

And my colors and flowers were inspired by the inspiration photo for The Challenge #90…

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bamboo Rose ABS Cards

Hello friends, and Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow Americans!  I hope you have a safe, enjoyable holiday!

I have a few more cards to share with you today!  After I made this card a few days ago using the beautiful Bamboo Rose stamps and dies from Altenew, I just figured I’d stamp and die cut a few more while I was already making one card.  So the second batch of roses I watercolored in shades of purple, and made this card for my Mom…

My Mom has always been the most amazing person in my life, and I AM grateful for her in so many ways.  She visited us for a long weekend recently, and we went garage sale’ing on Friday, something she’s SO GOOD at!  And with my weight loss over the past year, she has found a lot of “new” clothes for me at garage sales and thrift shops so my summer wardrobe is 90% thanks to her!  So I wanted to send her a card to say thanks for all the new clothes, and just for being my terrific Mom.  Along with the Bamboo Rose stamps, I also used the Grateful stamps and matching Die-Namics, the Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle STAX, and BG Small Brick background from My Favorite Things.

Then, since I still had a few pink and purple Bamboo Roses left, I made these two ABS Cards for extras to keep in my stash!  (If you missed it, check out my post here about ABS Cards!)

In addition to the Bamboo Rose stamps and dies, these cards also use the Label Love stamp set from Altenew, and the Stitched Rounded Square Frames Die-Namics, and the BG Whimsical Woodgrain background from My Favorite Things.

I hope this inspires you to do a little shopping, or whip up some ABS Cards for yourself, or BOTH!  Thanks for stopping by!

ABS Cards

ABS Cards?  You may be asking “Tammy, what are ABS Cards?”  No, that doesn’t stand for Anti-Lock Braking System… at least not here!  You’ve heard of ABC gum, haven’t you?  (Already Been Chewed)  Well, the cards I’m sharing with you today are what I call ABS Cards!  (Already Been Stamped)  You see, whenever I use a stamp set like Bold Blooms, Beautiful Blooms, Desert Bouquet, or Mini Modern Blooms I like to die-cut quite a few extra of every piece.  Then, when I get out my MISTI to stamp the flowers, while I’m at it, I just stamp more than I need for the current card I’m making.  Then I store the extras in the pocket with the dies, so I always have a “garden” of extra flowers on hand to make ABS Cards!  (All the flower stamps and Die-Namics you see in this post are from My Favorite Things, unless otherwise noted.)

I even have a Ziploc bag full of extra die-cut flowers from the Sensational Stitched Flowers Die-Namics that are leftover from this project…

Some die-cuts you can see are not stamped, and that’s most likely because I didn’t intend to use that particular piece on whatever I was working on, but they’re there if I ever do want to use them! 

A few of these “leftovers” originated from a project I did back in April.  Twice a year I go on a weekend-long stamping retreat with friends, and while I was there, I die-cut a whole mess of Beautiful Blooms, and stamped them all in a variety of complimentary colors to create a set of cards like this…

I think I made 16 of these… can’t remember now.  (The wreath used here is the Chisolm Wreath from Simon Says Stamp.)  But all the leftover flowers and leaves went into the pocket for later use!  Like yesterday, when I needed to make a quick little card and used them for this ABS Card…

And over the last few weeks, I’ve made two cards using Bold Blooms, and the leftover stamped die-cuts from those cards were used to make these two ABS Cards…

So, next time you’re using floral stamp sets that have matching dies, consider stamping some extras so you have them on hand to create ABS Cards!  Or ANY stamp set, really… doesn’t have to be florals!  Just stamp a few extra each time, and save a few steps for your next creation!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Cow’s It Going?

Hi friends!  I’m checking in today with a card I finished for the current sketch #338, and the current color challenge #72 from My Favorite Things…

And here’s what I came up with…

Even though it’s a retired stamp set, this Birdie Brown Green Pastures stamp has always been a favorite for me.  I added the sweet little cow from The Whole Herd to go with the sweet sentiment.  Other products used include the BG Diagonal Stripes background, Stitched Rounded Square Frames Die-Namics, the Essential Sentiment Fishtail Strips (I think that’s what they’re called… I can’t find them right now on the MFT site), and the County Fair Plaid Paper Pack.  I also used Cherry Crisp, Blueberry and Cement Gray card stocks.

Day one of my stay-cation is in the books… I had a really rough day!  LOL  (Bazinga!)

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Color Throwdown #448

Hello friends!  Wow, life has kept me busy lately, how about you?  My Mom was visiting a few weeks ago, then I was busy getting ready to have a big yard sale.  The sale was yesterday, and I was able to sell quite a bit of my now-too-big clothing so that was really nice!  I’m happy to get it all out of my closet, and happy to pass it on to others who can use the clothes.  And now, I’m on stay-cation and don’t go back to work until Monday, July 3rd!  So you’ll be hearing from me a lot in the coming week, I’m sure!

Last evening, I spent some time stamping with some new stamps I bought from Pink Fresh Studio!  I got these several weeks ago, but just haven’t had time to play.  And now that I have… OMGosh!  I just LOVE these sweet Say it with Florals stamps, and the matching Say it with Florals die!  This card was a lot of fun to make.  For my first attempt, I followed the example on the package, and this is what I came up with…

I was inspired by the current color palette for Color Throwdown #448.

I used Lavender Fields, Cotton Candy, Spearmint, Green-Eyed Monster, Razzle Berry, Blu Raspberry, and Tropical Teal dye inks from My Favorite Things to stamp the leaves and flowers, and to watercolor the background, then embellished simply with some Sparking Clear Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh..

That’s all for me today… thanks for stopping by!  And stay tuned, because my stay-cation is going to involve A LOT of time in my stamping room!

Hodge Podge

Hi friends!  I’ve had some busy days lately, that haven’t allowed much time for stamping, but my time has been filled with other great pursuits, so it’s all good!  But I didn’t find a little time recently for some special projects, and wanted to quickly share them with you today!

My daughter and her boyfriend recently bought a house together (no, they’re not married… don’t get me started!) and I wanted to make my daughter a little something to have in her home from Mom.  Plus it made for a great excuse to do a little shopping at My Favorite Things, and I picked up the sweet Home Sweet Home Die-Namics, and the matching No Place Like Home stamps.  And this is what I created…

I bought this panoramic 10”x4” picture frame on Amazon to frame up these sweet little houses!  My daughter loves it, and has it proudly displayed in her living room.  All of the die-cuts you see come from the Home Sweet Home Die-Namics, except for the Stitched Square Layers in the background which are from Memory Box.  Additionally, I used the BG Bold Diagonal Stripes background on the Lemon Chiffon card stock in the background.

I also have a co-worker with a birthday coming up, and she’s a bird lover so the Bird Crazy stamps from Tim Holtz were a no-brainer to make her card.  This will be for everyone in the office to sign…

Because I’m short on time this weekend, I just made this card very similar to another one I made several months ago, but incorporated the current Color Throwdown #447 colors into my design.  The sentiment comes from another Tim Holtz stamp set, Crazy Talk.  On the inside, I stamped “It’s your birthday… CELEBRATE!”

Hope you’re having a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello There Florals

Hello friends, me again!  I've so loved this beautiful 3-day weekend!  A great time to remember the sacrifice of our soldiers AND their families who enable us to be free.

I was so happy to have extra time for "therapy", aka stamping!  I made this card on Monday, using the current CAS(E) this Sketch #223 for inspiration...

Even though this stamp set from My Favorite Things is called Fall Florals, I LOVE using it for any season... the flowers in this set just have a cool, funky vibe and they're fun to use.  I stamped my flowers in a variety of dye inks from MFT, then arranged them all on the background oval that was made using the Die-Namics Stitched Oval Scallop Edge Frames, and behind the oval matted a piece of paper from the Dots & Stripes Confections 6x6 paper pack.  I added a sentiment from More Essential Sentiments on a piece of Coral Crush card stock that was die-cut using the current Free-with-$60 Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips.  On the white card stock background, I stamped the BG Distressed Stripes background with Versamark ink, and embossed with white embossing powder.

Here's the sketch I used from CAS(E) this Sketch...

Again, I hope you've had a beautiful Memorial Day weekend and I thank you for stopping by!

Domo Arigato

Hello friends!  I made a fun card today and combined the current Sketch Challenge #334 and Color Challenge #70 from My Favorite Things...

The stamp set Sushi Date was a must-have when it was released a few months ago... we are big sushi lovers at my house!  I used the matching Die-Namics set, and colored the images with Copic markers.  For the square element in the sketch, I pulled out the Stitched Rounded Square Frames Die-Namics, and cut the frame from Orange Zest card stock.  Behind the frame, I added a double-ended fishtail flag that came from the Blueprints 12 cut from Persimmon card stock.  On the white card stock background, I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background in Versamark ink, then embossed with white embossing powder.  On the lower half of the card, I added a piece of patterned paper in Berrylicious that came from the Graphic Grid 6x6 paper pack.  The stitched, rounded edge on the white card stock was achieved by using the Die-Namics Stitched Basic Edges.  I matted everything on a piece of Gravel Gray card stock, and embellished with some enamel dots.

I hope you're having a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Hello Tulip

When I saw the beautiful photo of tulips this week on the Inspired by all the Little Things challenge blog, I knew instantly that I wanted to create a card for the challenge!  Here’s the inspiration photo…

My beautiful Multi-Step Tulip Garden stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps has been severely neglected, so I got it out and got it inky!  This set has always been one of my favorites, as tulips have always been a favorite for me, too.  Here’s my card…

I stamped my tulip using MFT dye inks, in order from darkest to lightest, Brick Red, Persimmon, Coral Crush and Peach Bellini.  And stamped the leaves in Jellybean Green (darkest) Jellybean Green (stamped off once for the medium layer) and Sour Apple (lightest).  I die-cut the piece after stamping using the Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle STAX Die-Namics, then masked off the scallops and sponged some Antique Linen ink around the inside perimeter.  On the background piece, I stamped  a linen background using Whip Cream ink so it’s just very subtle.  Then I added a strip of plaid paper from the Subtle Plaid 6x6 paper pack.  I used the Hand Lettered Hello die from Wplus9 Design for the sentiment, die-cut from Blu Raspberry card stock.  I cut two layers, glued them together, then applied a layer of Glossy Accents for dimenion.  I finished the card with a few sequins (plus a LOT more that I spilled as I was putting them away!)

THAT was a fun mess to clean up!  LOL

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hello Blooms

Hello friends!  It was a chilly, damp day in my neck of the woods… a good day to stay inside and stamp, which is exactly what I did!  I pulled out what’s becoming a favorite stamp set, the Bold Blooms from My Favorite Things, and made this card using the colors for the current color challenge on the MFT Challenge & Inspiration blog…

I had some initial reservations about these colors… Cotton Candy, Ripe Raspberry, Safety Orange and Steel Grey.  I’m a big fan of orange, but Safety Orange isn’t a very pretty shade.  But I truly ended up liking this combination, and even found that grey for the “greenery” looks kind of cool!  Along with the Bold Blooms stamp set and matching Die-Namics, I used a new die, the Die-Namics Square Peek-a-Boo Window, and also the Label Love stamp set.  I embellished with some dark grey sequins.

I may have gone a little overboard, but my layout was inspired by the current CAS(E) this Sketch #222!

Here’s the color swatch for the current MFT color challenge…

Hope your weekend is great… thanks for stopping by!

Kind People are the Best

Broni has chosen some gorgeous colors this week for Color Throwdown #443!  I couldn’t resist playing along… there’s just something about the combination of yellow with any shade of blue.  I love it!  If I could afford to, I’d redo my kitchen in shades of yellow and blue!

This Kind Card Frame Add-On Die from Concord & 9th is just genius!  I have the Happy Card Frame Die too, and just love the way it cuts out the frame with the word as part of it.  Too cool, and the font is awesome, too!  I created the background by stamping the LJD Scribble Roses from My Favorite Things on a piece of watercolor card stock using Versamark ink, then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Then I just applied a wash of water colors using Lemon Chiffon, Daffodil, Sour Apple Jellybean Green, Summer Splash and Blu Raspberry die inks.  The rest of the sentiment from Kindhearted stamp set was stamped on a piece of Steel Grey card stock.  Added some splatters of Tropical Teal ink, and some sequins for embellishment.

Be sure to stop by the Color Throwdown blog and check out the challenge, along with some great inspiration from the CTD team!  And thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Birthday Card and Gift

I have a co-worker who had a birthday last week, and I wanted to create a little set of note cards as a gift for her.  I saw this cute, simple card a few days prior by Laurie Willison, and it got my wheels turning.  So here’s what I did to create a set of note cards for Michele…

I used the Doodled Blooms stamps and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things, coloring the flowers and leaves with Copic markers.  I added a strip of die-cut grass to each card, and simple, everyday sentiments from the Essential Sentiments and More Essential Sentiments stamp sets.

For Michele’s actual birthday card, I pulled out my pretty Beautiful Day stamps from Altenew, and just created a quick watercolored card panel…

I masked the flower and added some splatters plus some sequins for embellishment, then added a sentiment by combining the You craft die from Simon Says with a birthday sentiment.  I die-cut the panel with a die from Blueprints 22 from My Favorite Things, and added a black and white striped strip of paper from the Black & White Basics Paper Pack. 

Finally (speaking of Laurie Willison!) I used my new Rectangle Card Hanger die to hang the birthday card from the gift bag…

The bag ended up being a little too big, but it was all I could find in the wee hours when I finally finished this a few nights ago!  These Card Hanger dies that Laurie designed are GENIUS!  How many times have you taken a gift to a party with your beautiful card in an envelope inside the bag?  And the recipient opens the card, looks to see who the gift is from and sticks it back into the envelope and back into the bag???  LOL  For me personally, I want the gushing over my creation from the recipient and guests, amiright?!?!  And with these cool dies, you can hang your card proudly on the front of the bag, and the whole room will be heard saying “did you see that gift bag with the gorgeous card?”  :)  Gotta’ love it!

Thank you for stopping by again today!