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!

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!

Daisies

Hello friends!  I got some new stamps recently from Altenew, and promptly started inking up the new Spring Daisy stamp set for this card…

I masked fhe big daisy in the center front, and added the second one behind it, then masked both daisies to add the leaves.  Everything was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder, then I watercolored using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I added some ink spatters and sequins for embellishment.  The sentiment was created by using the small You craft die and the You Matter stamp set from Simon Says.

I was inspired by the current colors of Color Throwdown #444, and the inspiration photo at Inspired by All the Little Things #58 to create this card.

I hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Thinking of You

I recently made my very first purchase of stamps from Concord & 9th, after seeing some cards made with the gorgeous Hello Lovely stamp set.  I’m not entirely sure that I like my watercoloring here, but overall I think the card turned out OK.  My plan is to send this card to one of my aunts, who’s been having some health problems and has been in a nursing home for a few months.

I hope my Aunt Rose will like this!  I stamped the flowers in Versafine Onyx Black ink, embossed with clear embossing powder, and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to color this.  The sentiment was created by stamping part of a phrase from this Thanks stamp set from Simon Says Stamp, and the You Craft Die, also from Simon Says.

I’m linking my card to the current Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge:  Splash it On, and the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:  Showers or Flowers.

I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Crazy for a Sketch

Hello friends!  It’s that time of the month when the Crazy 4 Challenges team has a sketch challenge for you to try, so I hope you’ll join us this week!  This is a cute little square sketch that I love!

For my card, I used some old patterned papers from Papertrey Ink, and this sweet new Happy Harvest acorn stamp set from Reverse Confetti, along with the matching Confetti Cuts dies.

I kept this pretty simple, adding some enamel dots around the image for embellishment, instead of the line of dots on the bottom right corner.

And speaking of Crazy 4 Challenges, last week’s challenge kind of came and went and somehow I just never got my card photographed and uploaded.  Life has been crazy lately… I’m working really hard the last few months trying to eat healthier, exercise and lose weight so lately my focus is more on going for a walk than stamping.  (Down 30 pounds since May!)  Plus I started a new job 2 weeks ago, so I’m really sidetracked.  Anyway, last week’s challenge can be found HERE.  The challenge was to choose your two favorite colors on the color wheel, then make a card using the colors opposite your favorites.  Trouble is, my most favorite color is orange, and my next favorite is aqua blue.  Those colors ARE opposite each other on the color wheel.  So what I did instead was just move around the wheel from orange to yellow, and from blue to purple.  (I’m NOT a purple fan so anytime I have to use it is a challenge!)  And here’s what I came up with.

I watercolored this Clearly Besotted sunflower from the Sunshine and Smiles stamp set, and added the die-cut thank you sentiment.

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!

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!

Curtain Call–Snow Cone Reminder

There’s still time to join the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge this week, and create a card using the inspiration photo above!  Enter by Wednesday, August 10th at 8:00 a.m. Central time to be in the running to be our next Lead Designer!

I created another card with a cool, summertime refreshment theme by using this watercolor card from the Suzy’s Sizzling Series package at Simon Says Stamp.  I got a LOT of inspiration for my card from Debby Hughes’ card here…



I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers for my card, and an aqua brush.  And I took some hints from Debby’s card and added some Diamond Stickles, Perfect Pearls and Wink of Stella pen for some sparkle, as well as a few clear sequins.

Be sure to stop over at the Curtain Call blog for all the challenge details and join us!

Thanks for stopping by… happy Monday!

CrAzY for Cheer

It’s time for another challenge with the Crazies, and this week we’re looking to cheer someone up!  July 11th is actually Cheer Up the Lonely Day, so let’s create cards that provide comfort and encouragement!

I went with a simple thinking of you sentiment for my card…



I colored this poppy from the LJD Delicate Pretty Poppies stamp set from My Favorite Things using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, then die cut and mounted it to a piece of watercolor card stock that I also used my Zig markers on.  I splattered the background with water, some watered-down Perfect Pearls and some Tropical Teal dye ink as well, and embellished with a few sequins.  My poppy and background were colored as part of The Daily Marker 30 Day Challenge, and I also used these colors for the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge.

Stop by the C4C blog for all the challenge details, and join us!  And visit the other Crazies for more inspiration…

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!

Hard Work

I took some time this holiday weekend for a little stamping, just for fun.  I had recently discovered a fun new-to-me challenge that I wanted to play along with… the Time Out Challenge.  This week, the challenge was to be inspired by the phrase “May all your weeds be wildflowers.”  I decided to pull out my Watercolor Doodles panels from Simon Says Stamp to make a card for this challenge.  I’ve had these panels since last Fall, and have never used any until now!  I thought my daughter would like this card… she’s working pretty hard at school, making good grades and keeping her nose to the grindstone so I thought I’d send this to her this week.



I used my Zig watercolor markers to color the panel, using bright color (especially purple!) that I knew Kelsey would love.  I kept the design fairly simple, just mounting the panel to a piece of black card stock for a pop, then mounting it to a white card base.

That’s all for me today… thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Cards

I have two cousins with birthdays this week… one who is very special because she shares a birthday with my daughter Kelsey!  And since these days I’m still feeling a lack of stamping motivation, I chose to CASE a few designs for my cards this past weekend.

This first card was a CASE of this fantastic card by Debby Hughes…

I pretty much copied the flowers just as Debby used them on her card, because why mess with perfection, amiright?  These flowers are from the Wplus9 Design Studio stamp set for Simon Says Stamp called Many Thanks, and the sentiment comes from the Simon Says Sending and Wishing stamp set.  I added a few ink splatters to the card, and embellished with some sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

My second card was inspired by this awesome card made by Laura Bassen…



On this card, I used the Grid Background stamp from Simon Says Stamp embossed with white embossing powder, then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers  to watercolor the squares, putting down just a small bit of color on one side of the square, then drawing the color out with an aqua brush.  The sentiment combines the Best Hugs stamp set, and the Scripty Big Hugs die.  I added a bundle of silver thread, and some more sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.  The colors on my card were inspired by the color challenge this week at My Favorite Things.

AND I’m happy to be joining in again this month with Kathy Racoosin and The Daily Marker 30-Day Coloring Challenge!  And since I used my Zig markers for the above card, I’ve got day 1 in the bag!

Have a great week… thanks for stopping by!

Yellow Poppies

I found out a few days ago that the dear, sweet lady who lived across the street from us when I was growing up had passed away.  She was 97 years old, bless her heart!  What a wonderful, giving life she had!  She crocheted slippers every Christmas and my Mom, sister and I always got a new pair, and my Dad always got a tin of her famous Chex mix.  Even at 95 years old, and in a rehab facility because she had taken a fall and broke a bone, she insisted on having her daughter bring her to my Dad's funeral back in December 2013.  My sister and I were so touched to see her there!  I HAD to get a card made to send to her daughter this week.  So here's what I came up with...

These poppies from the Botanical Silhouettes stamp set from Papertrey Ink have always been a favorite, and I often think of using them for sympathy cards.  This was an anniversary set that is no longer available, so I'm sorry there's no link.  I stamped the flowers in Daffodil hybrid ink from My Favorite Things, and the stems were stamped with Olive hybrid ink on a piece of watercolor card stock.  I then added a bit of a gray wash amongst the flowers using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens.  Since I stamped the flowers with hybrid ink, I was able to watercolor around them and the ink doesn't react to the water. 

For the layout, I was inspired by the sketch this week at CAS(E) this Sketch #156, and I used the colors for the Color Throwdown #377.  And I'm also entering this in the current Word Art Wednesday challenge #218 - Anything Goes.  (Can I just say how GLAD I am to have discovered that challenge?  Not only does it inspire me to create, but the ladies on the team are so kind and supportive!  I've received the nicest comments from them, AND won a $25 Simon Says gift certificate for my entry a few weeks ago!)

That's all for me today.... thank you for stopping by my blog!

Color Throwdown #356

Hello friends!  It's time again for the Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Broni is our hostess.  She's got this great inspiration photo for you!  With Summer still in full swing, but Fall on the way there are a LOT of possibilities with these colors...

For my card, I just had to finally use my fantastic new Blissful Blooms stamp set and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things… 

I die-cut a BUNCH of flowers and leaves from watercolor card stock, then used my MISTI to stamp them all.  Then I pulled out my Zig Clean Color watercolor markers and started coloring.  After I had a good garden full of flowers, I started on my card.  My layout was inspired by my BFF Barbara Anders and her great CTD card from two weeks ago.  On the Sweet Tooth card stock background I started by applying a thin layer of white embossing paste using the Harlequin stencil from MFT.  After the paste was dry, I laid the stencil back over the embossing and sponged the diamonds with some Orange Zest dye ink.  I layered this panel on a piece of Black Licorice card stock, and mounted to a Sweet Tooth card stock base.  I die-cut the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX from Green Room card stock, and layered it behind a piece of Black Licorice card stock that was cut with the Blueprints 12 and my Stitched Circle STAX.  Then I arranged my floral bouquet and added the sentiment on a Sweet Tooth card stock Fishtail Flags STAX.  The sentiment is from the LJD Spring Tulips stamp set, but I only used half the sentiment.  A few black enamel dots completed my design.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer
Yapha Mason, Guest Star Stamper

Happy Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by today!

Thank You Florals

Hello friends, and happy Saturday!  I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend!

I recently saw these beautiful floral stamps from the Clearly Besotted Fairytale Ending set on Debby Hughes’ blog, and I just had to have them!  (There’s a matching die, too!)  The sentiments in the set are all wedding-themed, which I don’t have a need for right now, so I just made a thank you card because there is always a need for those!

I’m a little late, but the layout of my card is from last Saturday’s Retro Sketch #175, and a can also enter this in the Tie It Up challenge this week on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog.  I stamped the floral spray with Versmark, embossed with white detail embossing powder, then colored with my Zig Clean Color markers.  On the oval panel, which was cut from watercolor card stock, I just did some easy ink smooshing with Tumbled Glass distress ink.  Then I made the sentiment by stamping “Thank” from an old MFT stamp set in Steel Grey hybrid ink, and added the “you” cut from Ripe Raspberry card stock using the Simon Says “You” wafer die.  I added a big yellow flag behind the oval that was cut from the Blueprints 13 dies, and stamped with a polka dot background stamp.  The green panel was die cut with the Blueprints 24 and stamped with the BG Diagonal Stripes background.  I added a twine bow, and some black enamel dots for embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a great weekend!

Color Throwdown #354

Hello friends, and welcome to Wednesday!  Otherwise known as Hump Day, otherwise known as the last day I have to work until Monday!  Whooohooo, I took a few paid days off and created myself a 4-day weekend/stay-cation, and I can’t wait!  At 5:00 p.m. today Eastern time, you will hear me holler!  :)

But before I get carried away, let’s get to today’s Color Throwdown challenge!  Wanda is our hostess today for challenge #354 and she’s got some pretty, earthy colors for you to try…



I stuck with the earthy-theme and used this cute gnome who’s totally diggin’ things!



The gnome is from the You Gnome Me Birdie Brown stamp set at My Favorite Things, and I used the Sweet Sunday Sketch #280 for the layout (GREAT sketch, don’t you think?)  On the Peach Bellini card stock panel I stamped the BG Woodgrain background in Peach Bellini hybrid ink, and on the Berrylicious card stock strip I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background with Berrylicious hybrid ink.  The gnome was stamped on watercolor card stock and I colored with my Zig Clean Color markers.  I added a strip of grass that was die-cut with the Grassy Fields Die-Namics and a flag from Blueprints 12, both cut from Jellybean Green card stock.  I embellished with a few enamel dots to complete the design.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  Visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration, including my uber-talented friend Lindsay Amrhein who’s joining us this month as Guest Designer!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer
Jen Wills, Guest Star Stamper  Hey gnomies, thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #353

Hello friends!  Today's Color Throwdown challenge is otherwise known as "Vickie is TORTURING ME!"  LOLOL  Yeah, I know all the pep talks there are about getting out of your box, but the simple truth is... I DON'T DO PURPLE!  Seriously... she's trying to kill me!

 



OK, OK... enough whining!  Here's what I came up (and as you can see when you visit the CTD blog, several of us were inspired by the sunflowers in the photo!)

 

 

 

I started out partially stamping the BG Fine Chevron background from My Favorite Things, then heat embossing with detail white embossing powder.  Then I did a water color wash on my background using my Zig Clean Color markers, and then die cut the panel with the Blueprints 11 Die-Namics.  Then I used one of MY favorite stamp sets from My Favorite Things, the LJD Splendid Sunflower!  (*gasp!*  I think it's been... *gulp* RETIRED!)  I die-cut my flower with the matching Die-Namics set, then used my MISTI to stamp the sunflower using Lemon Chiffon hybrid ink and added some depth by coloring the petals with my Copic markers.  The leaves were stamped in Jellybean Green hybrid ink, and the flower center was done with Chocolate Brown and Hot Fudge hybrid inks.  I added the sentiment (from LJD Peaceful Wildflowers) in heat-embossed white on a strip of Steel Blue card stock.  Finally, I added some ink spatters to the background with a combination of water and Steel Grey dye ink as well as some MIX-ables Steel Shimmer mist.  The water colored panel was mounted to a piece of Steel Grey card stock, then mounted to a Sweet Tooth card stock base.

 

 

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins - off this week
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Donna, Guest Star Stamper


As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments!



MFT Summer School – Complementary Colors

I have been trying to participate in some of the Summer School lessons this week from My Favorite Things, and so I created this card for Lesson #7 on Complementary Colors.  It’s no secret that any shade of orange paired with blue (actually an aqua blue is more my preference!) is always a favorite for me!  So this lesson was right up my alley!

Here’s the card I created using the Sweet Sunday Sketch #278 for the layout, and the new CAS-ual Chic Utterly Adorable Layers challenge…



I stamped these gorgeous tulips from the LJD Spring Tulips on watercolor card stock with Versamark ink, then heat embossed with detail white embossing powder, and colored them using my fabulous Zig Clean Color watercolor markers.  The tulips were die-cut with the matching Die-Namics.  On the Berrylicious card stock background panel I stamped the BG Fine Chevron background using Grout Gray hybrid ink.  I added a Peach Bellini die-cut circle behind the tulips that was cut with the Blueprints 24 Die-Namics, and layered the circle under a strip of vellum.  I stamped the sentiment from Totally Happy on a strip of Steel Grey card stock using Sweet Tooth pigment ink that was heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Under the sentiment I added a Sno Cone card stock banner flag that was cut with Blueprints 24.  A few enamel dots completed my design.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

TCP Tuesday #294

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a happy 4th of July holiday (and for all of you outside the U.S. I hope you had a great weekend!)  It’s Tuesday again, but not just any Tuesday… TCPTuesday!  C’mon over to the TCP blog and join us for the sketch challenge today, being hosted by ME!  Here we go…

The sketch shows a square card, but it’s OK if you do an A2 card instead… just be inspired by the sketch!  When I do square cards anymore, I keep them 4 1/2” square, so they’ll still fit in an A2 envelope.  Here’s my card…

I recently got my hands on some fabulous new Zig Clean Color watercolor markers, and oh my are they fabulous!  So I just had to color up this image from the Constellation Prize stamp set, which was stamped on watercolor cardstock.  I added some sparkle in the night sky with a clear Wink of Stella pen, and some glitter card stock stars.  Plus I added a few stars that were die-cut with the 3x3 Star Cutups.  On the light blue card stock panel, I embossed with the Chevron Plate Cutups.
I really hope you’ll join us this week, because you could win some Cat Cash just by playing along!  Find all the details on the TCP blog along with a lot more inspiration from The Cat Pack!
Thanks for stopping by today!