Back in the Kitchen

Well, hello friends!  I haven’t been here in awhile… not sure if anyone missed me, but I’m here today to share some new creations with you!  I don’t stamp nearly as much as I have in the past, but when I do I find it easier to just share on Instagram.  So if you’re an Instagram user, please feel free to follow me there by clicking this link, or click on the little Instagram camera icon there on the top left column of my blog.

But hey, let’s get to the biggest reason why I’m here today!  Many moons ago, I was honored to be assigned to my very first design team by the wonderful owner of Kitchen Sink Stamps.  And today, Maria is releasing a new bunch of great stamps and has asked me to help her share them with you today by being a guest designer.  Little known fact… in addition to being the first design team I was ever priviledged to serve on, I was also the VERY FIRST online customer at Kitchen Sink Stamps!  I logged on to Splitcoaststampers one day, and saw a banner ad for a company I’d not heard of, but in that ad was a pretty flower!  I was intrigued!  I clicked on the link and liked what I saw so much I placed a quick order as I headed out the door to work.  That first stamp set that caught my eye (in addition to a few others I ordered that day!) was the 3-Step Daisy.  Do you remember this card?

Another fun story from many moons ago… I don’t remember how it got started but the Kitchen Sink Crew members were talking about other flowers we’d like to see as stamp sets, and someone (I think it was me?) mentioned dogwoods.  I have the most beautiful pink dogwood tree in front of my kitchen window, and I look forward to it blooming every spring!  Maria, being from California, didn’t know what a dogwood tree was!  The horror!  So I actually plucked some of the blooms from my tree that following spring, pressed them between sheets of waxed paper, then tucked them between the pages of a magazine, and quickly mailed that magazine off to Maria.  And now… 8-10 years later? I FINALLY have my dogwoods!  Just LOOK!

Say hello to the Enchanted Dogwood stamp set.  Aren’t they glorious?!?!?!  I literally SQUEALED when I saw the stamps, I was so happy!  I stamped my dogwoods with a combination of pink inks, because the pink blooms are what I like best.  We also have another dogwood tree in our yard that has yellow blooms, but the shape of the petals are slightly different than this one.  You seriously can make yours any color you want… they’re all beautiful!  I paired my pretty flowers with some gingham paper, and added a sentiment… the “Friend” comes from another new set being released today, the Words 4 Celebrating set.  You will find SO. MUCH. VERSATILITY! in this new sentiment set… as I did with this card…

How do you like that rainbow?  I picked four of the words from the set… Amazing, Special, Perfect and Awesome and stamped them for a background.  Then I die-cut the letters y-o-u, and combined them with a sentiment from the Other Important People stamp set.  I just LOVE how this one turned out, and I hope you like it, too!

And one more fabulous stamp set being released is the Multi-Step Spring Daffodils!  Check it out…

Daffodils in the spring are such a wonderful sight, don’t you think?  Although, here in Norteast Ohio, they can sometimes look pretty sad when they’re covered by a snowfall, as happens quite often!  One more fun fact, if you can stand it?  When I was a little girl, I called these “dack-o-dills”!  Wasn’t I ADORABLE???  I paired my daffodils with another sentiment from the Words 4 Celebrating stamp set, and I also used the digital cut file that’s available from Kitchen Sink Stamps to cut out the daffodils with my Silhouette Cameo.

Finally, I had to use the Spring Daffodils for one more fun card.  You’ll notice included with the daffodils in the set, some frogs and dragonflies!  So, just for the fun of it, I used the current CAS(E) this Sketch #274 to create this fun birthday card…

My froggie is hiding in the weeds along the edge of a pond, getting ready to snap that dragonfly out of the air!  LOL

PLEASE be sure to visit the Kitchen Sink Stamps website to grab these new stamp sets for yourself.  And stop by the KSS Facebook page to see more creations featuring these new designs.  And visit the other Kitchen Sink Crew members today, who will have fun designs to share…

Lynn McAuley

Jeanne Frontz

Maria Colosimo

So, that’s all for me today… I know, I’ve been long-winded!  I hope someone might still be reading my blog here, and that you’ve enjoyed these KSS creations today!  Thank you for stopping by!

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!

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!

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!

Bamboo Rose Birthday

Hello, and happy weekend!  I did some more stamping yesterday, and made this birthday card for one of my aunts using the Bamboo Rose stamp and die set from Altenew…

I stamped the roses on watercolor card stock with Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder.  Then I colored each rose and the leaves with dye inks from My Favorite Things and an aqua brush.  I arranged the roses around a Stitched Oval Scallop Edge Frame Die-Namics from MFT and added an inset with watercolor card stock and a wash of Cotton Candy dye ink.  The sentiment, from the Simon Says Thoughtful Messages stamp set, was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I added the BG Diagonal Stripes background behind the oval, and applied a wash of Sour Apple dye ink.  Some Sparkling Clear Sequins for embellishment completed my card.

Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

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!

Birthday Butterflies

I love watching home improvement shows on TV.  I’m especially loving a recent new show called Home Town.  Have you seen it?  Ben and Erin are just the cutest couple, and I just LOVE what they’re doing to older homes in their town!  On one episode I recently watched, I saw some fabric on a pillow or something and thought “oooh, I love those colors together!”  So I just had to create a card using coral, yellow and bright green…

These butterflies are from the Butterfly Beauty stamp set from Concord & 9th.  I stamped the butterflies in Versamark ink on watercolor card stock and heat embossed in white.  Then I applied a watercolor wash over the butterflies using Persimmon, Daffodil and Field Day premium dye inks from My Favorite Things.  I also added some spatters of water and Perfect Pearls for some shimmer.  The sentiment is a combination of the large You Wafer die, and the You Matter stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  I die-cut the “you” from Coral Crush card stock two times, glued them together then applied a layer of Glossy Accents.  Some sequin embellishments completed my design.  The sequins and Perfect Pearls also added some sparkle, making my card perfect for the current Simon Says Wednesday challenge.

Thanks 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!

Color Throwdown #438

Hello friends!  Has anyone missed me?  I don’t find much time for stamping and blogging lately, but this Easter Sunday has been blessedly quiet.  After church and a nice family dinner (oh, and a nap!) I’ve had some great time for stamping.  So here’s a card I made, using the current Color Throwdown  #438.  Sadly, I need a sympathy card this week…

For this card, I used the prety Bold Blooms stamp set and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things, stamping in Coral Crush, Peach Bellini, Lemon Chiffon, Limelight and Sour Apple hybrid inks.  The sentiment, from the Deepest Sympathy stamp set, was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink on a new Die-Namics Sentiment Label Strip.  Behind the flowers and strip, I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background in Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder, then die cut it with the Pierced Rectangle STAX Die-Namics.  I mounted this to a panel of Grout Gray card stock, then mounted to a white card base.  I could add some sequins or enamel dots for further embellishment, but think it just needs to stay simple.

Below I’m including photos of some more cards I have made recently, but haven’t had time to blog.  If you would like information about any of these cards… stamps used, colors, etc. just shoot me an email!

Thanks for stopping by today!

The birthday card I made for my Mom last month.

For my daughters graduation from Vet Tech school in March.

For my daughter’s boyfriend, who graduated on the same day from Culinary School.

For my hubby, for our 27th anniversary last week.

Actually made this one back in November when I was a retreat and realized I had never blogged it!

CrAzY about Animals - C4C371

Hello friends!  It’s time for a new challenge with the Crazy 4 Challenges team, and also a new month.  And I am the challenge hostess for February, so I want to see you all joining in, because I have some fun challenges lined up!

AND I’ve got a FABULOUS Guest Designer joining us this month, too!  None other than the highly talented and super-sweet, Lisa Henke!  I know you’re going to love her darling creations all month long!

The challenge for this week is centered around my daughter, Kelsey.  Today is Kelsey’s 20th birthday!  How did my BABY get to be 20 already???  None only is it her birthday, but she’s 19 days away from graduating from Bradford Vet Tech in Columbus, Ohio… she loves her animals!  In fact, I often joke (but am honestly quite serious!) that the only grandchildren I will get from her someday will be the four-legged kind!  So, to honor Kelsey’s birthday today I’m challenging everyone to make a card with animals on it!

So, here’s Kelsey’s birthday card for today…

Kelsey is also a purple-fanatic so this background paper from My Favorite Things was perfect for her card, along with this sweet Lili of the Valley dog/cat/bunny image. (I think it’s retired… can’t find it on their site.)  I colored with Copics, then put these cuties in a die-cut Polaroid frame, and added the birthday sentiment.  I’m hoping Kelsey will love it!

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Lisa Henke, February Guest Designer
Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by today!

Polar Birthday

It’s a new month, and that means we have a new hostess for the Crazy 4 Challenges team, and that’s our fearless leader, Frances Byrne!  And today Frances wants us to be inspired by the STAR… we put a star on our Christmas trees, and a star led the wiseman to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem… everywhere you look at Christmastime, you see stars.  So, using the letters S-T-A-R, incorporate them into your design! 

Now… you’ll have to forgive me but my brain is on overload this week with a lot going on at work.  So I took it pretty easy on myself and used…

S – silver
T – teal
A – apple green
R – red

And here’s my card…

 

On a piece of watercolor card stock, I used my Peerless watercolors to create a light teal wash.  After the ink dried, I spattered with more teal ink, and some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Tinsel.  I added a Sweet Tooth card stock frame over my background that was die-cut with the Pierced Rectangle STAX Die-Namics from My Favorite Things.  Then I pulled out my Birdie Brown Cool Day stamp set from MFT, and die-cut and stamped the polar bear, sign and iceberg, then colored with Copics.  I embellished with some Sparkling Clear Mix sequins, added my sentiments, and Silver Sparkle card stock strip, and called this card finished.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by!

Ham it Up!

It’s time for a new challenge from the Crazy 4 Challenges girls, and today is all about adding some CAKE to your card!  Mmmmmm…. cake!  You just can’t go wrong, amiright?  Even as I type this, I have a pumpkin cheesecake in my fridge, waiting to go to my sister-in-law’s today for our Thanksgiving dinner!  But I am avoiding cake these days… not part of my healty eating and exercise routine, unfortunately!  But I digress…. here’s my “cake” card for today!

I decided to go with a cupcake for my card, using this adorable piggie from the Birdie Brown Hog Heaven stamp set from My Favorite Things.  He’s so oinking cute, don’t you think?  I die-cut the piggie with the matching Die-Namics, then colored with Copics.  The sentiment was stamped on Sweet Tooth card stock and die-cut with the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics, and layered over a Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX cut from Field Day card stock.  I added a little flag under the sentiment flag cut from red paper from the Fresh Squeezed Chevon Paper Pack, using a die from Blueprints 14.  The background panel, cut using Blueprints 24 is from the Sweet Celebration Paper Pack.

My card layout was inspired by the current Sketch #308, and the current Color Challenge #58, both from My Favorite Things.

 

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge

Hello there, and happy Fall, my friends!  I hope this season of harvest has been as beautiful for you as it has been for us here in Northeast Ohio!  Except for some rainy days, we’ve had a fantastic Indian summer here…in more ways than one seeing as how the Indians are going to win the World Series tonight, too!    Oh, but I digress! 

I’m here today to share the new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge with you!  Today’s challenge is inspired by this awesome photo…

If I had felt in these gorgeous colors, I would have used it.  But I don’t so I went with card stock and here’s what I came up with…

I LOVED the yellow dots on the burlap background, and I tried so hard to replicate that but had no success.  So I went with the next best thing and used the Peek-a-Boo Polka Dots Die-Namics Cover-Up die for my background.  The leaves were cut from Blu Raspberry, Persimmon, and Jellybean Green card stock using the Falling Leaves Die-Namics.  Behind the leaves I added a Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics frame cut from Hot Fudge card stock.  And added the sentiment from Essential Sentiments stamped on a Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX Dei-Namics.  A few sequins and a button embellishment finished my card.

Please be sure to stop over at the Curtain Call blog for all the challenge details, and join us!  You could be in the running to be chosen as the “Lead” and be our guest designer for the next challenge!  And be sure to visit the Crew for plenty of inspiration…

Betty Wright
Kim Singdahlsen
Leigh Penner
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mangan
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Melody Rupple
Monika Davis
Sheri Gilson
Silke Ledlow
Stacey Schafer
Tara Godfrey

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Deer!

The Crazy 4 Challenges team is back again today, and the challenge this week is to create something with forest friends.  Any forest animal, or forest scenery you’ve got… create a card with it.  I LOVED this challenge because it gave me a chance to finally use my Clearly Besotted Deer to Me stamp set, and matching dies….

I kept this design pretty simple, stamping the images with Versafine Onyx Black ink on Distress Watercolor card stock, then embossing with clear embossing powder.  I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and an aquabrush to watercolor all the images.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by today!

CrAzY for Birthdays

The Crazy 4 Challenges team is up again today with a new challenge… create a birthday card!  Since my daughter had a birthday this week, I made her this card!  And since she’s celebrating in Vegas right now, it’s OK that it’s late… she won’t know I didn’t have it made in time!  LOL

She’s always been partial for giraffes, so this recently retired stamp set from My Favorite Things was just what I needed for her card, along with the current Sketch #299 on the MFT Challenge & Inspiration blog.

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of this stamp set….. Wild About You, maybe?  But alas, it IS retired but I still love it!  The safari animals are so cute…Kaylie will love this little giraffe.  I paired him with some papers from the retired Wild Prints 6x6 Paper Pack, and the Dots & Stripes Neutral 6x6 Paper Pack.   I die-cut the circle using Blueprints 12 and the Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics, and the sentiment flag is from Blueprints 13.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sensational Stitched Birthday

I’ve got a dear friend with a birthday coming up this week, so I used my super-fun-to-use Sensational Stitched Flowers Die-Namics from My Favorite Things to make this card for her…

Using the colors from Color Throwdown #409, and the sketch #231 from Retro Sketches, I created this card using these fun dies.  I just love mixing these flowers up to make fun bouquets!  I hope Cindy will like this card!  The “happy” Die-Namics, and birthday sentiment are both from My Favorite Things, but retired.

I hope you had a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing You Rainbows

The Crazy 4 Challenges team is up again today with a new challenge for you… use 10 of anything in your creation!  Does that sound easy to you, or impossible?  For me, it started out feeling impossible.  Anything I could think of to put on my card ten times just sounded excessive.  Until I came up with this idea…



By using a rainbow, I was able to put ten colors on my card!  There’s black and white, so there’s two.  Then the colors of the rainbow:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple that bring the total to eight.  Then I used pale yellow for the sun… the total is up to nine!  And I used a lighter blue for the watercolor sky, bringing my total to ten colors!  The End of the Rainbow Die-Namics from My Favorite Things was perfect for my card, along with the Rainbow of Happiness stamp set, and the Color the Rainbow Die-Namics combined for the sentiment.  Peeking out behind the clouds is the Radiant Sun Die-Namics die.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a GREAT weekend!

CrAzY for White - C4C352

Hey, happy Labor Day 3-day weekend!  It’s time for a new challenge with the CrAzIeS!  Since it’s Labor Day, our challenge today centers around the phrase “Don’t wear white after Labor Day”.  So we’re challenging you to create an all-white card.  It’s OK to use a little pop of color, as long as the white is the predominant color.  Stop by the Crazy 4 Challenges blog for all the details.

For my card, I. COULD. NOT. WAIT! to use my new Sensational Stitched Flowers Die-Namics from the new card kit at My Favorite Things!  Here’s what I came up with…

I die-cut a bunch of flowers from Ripe Raspberry card stock, as well as a few polka dot papers from the Dots & Stripes Sorbet 6x6 paper pack.  Now, yes I cheated a tiny bit and added some green leaves… you CAN’T have flowers without leaves, right?  I layered the flowers to the side of a panel cut with the Blueprints 22.  And in the background, I stamped the BG Distressed Stripes background in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.  The birthday sentiment comes from a retired set.

Be sure to stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details today, and be inspired by the rest of the CrAzY girls…

Anja de Regt
Barbara Anders
Caz Counsell
Frances Byrne
Jessie Rone
Joanne Grzelak
Karen Aicken
Maryann Einem
Raquel Mason
Rebecca Ednie

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a GREAT weekend!

Color Throwdown #408

Hello friends!  The current Color Throwdown challenge #408 is like my nemesis... I SO don't do well with primary colors!

But I decided to give it a go and am glad I did!  I'm offering up this hint, if it helps someone else out.  Sometimes when I need to use colors that are outside my comfort zone, I try to find an image to color that will allow me to use all the colors.  So, this handsome gnome holding a pot of flowers was PERFECT for this challenge!

See!?  The gnome and the mushroom were just perfect to incorporate all four colors!  The gnome is from the Birdie Brown You Gnome Me stamp set from My Favorite Things, and I colored him with Copic markers.  I also used the Grassy Fields Die-Namics, the Radiant Sun Die-Namics, the Rectangle Frames Die-Namics, and Blueprints 24 for my card.

Stop by the Color Throwdown blog and join my besties for this challenge!

Curtain Call–Flamingo Reminder

Hey friends, just a reminder you have until Thursday, August 25th at 8:00 Central time to join us for the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!  The current challenge is inspired by this photo.  Remember, it’s all about being inspired by the photo.  If you don’t have anything flamingo-themed, that’s OK.  Be inspired by the colors, and actual items (the phone cases, the blouse, the swim ring)… let your imagination lead you!

Since I used my only flamingo-themed item on my card last week, I chose today to be inspired by the swim floaty, and went with this much-loved stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs for my card…

This Poolside Chicken stamp has always been a favorite of mine from Whipper Snapper Designs (And how cool is it that a card I made using it is the one they use to sell the stamp on their website?  I LOVE it!)  I chose to give my chicken a bright pink bikini to match the flamingo floaty in the inspiration photo, then added waves, a blue sky and sunshine coloring with my Copic markers.  I’d seriously LOVE to be in that same scenario right now!  My one chance so far this summer to go swimming was ruined by rain last Sunday, but we need the rain so bad here in Ohio so it’s all good.  No one needs to see me in my swimsuit, anyway!

Be sure to stop by the Curtain Call blog for all the challenge details and JOIN US!!!