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!

Two cards…

Hi friends!  I have two more cards to share with you that I made this past weekend.  I think I may have rediscovered some stamping motivation this weekend, so I’m hopeful that this trend will continue!

This first card was made for someone at church, and I used the Colour Q #324 colors for this week…



I used Peerless watercolors for the background, painted over the Large Grid background stamp from Simon Says Stamp.  (I think that background stamp is seriously one of the best stamping purchases I’ve ever made!)  I created the sentiment by using part of a lable stamp from Altenew’s Label Love stamp set, and the You die from Simon Says.  I did two layers of black and one layer of celery card stock for the die cut, and coated it with Glossy Accents, then layered it over a silver thread bundle.  I added a silver metallic card stock band behind the main panel and embellished with some clear sequins.

This second card is for my dear aunt, who had a birthday yesterday (and I hope will be happy with my card even though it’s late!)  Aunt Thead is my oldest aunt and has always been more like a Grandma to me… she is my Dad’s oldest sister, and two years later is still taking his passing pretty hard.  I think this was her 91st birthday (I can never keep it straight!) and I haven’t had the chance to visit with her in months as she lives 3 hours away.  I miss her so much, and pray that her birthday was a happy day.



Several weeks ago I had some stamping friends over to my house, and we played around with ink smooshing.  My friend Sherri created a gorgeous piece using this Roses All Over background stamp from My Favorite Things, and a combination of Abandoned Coral, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry distress inks.  So for this card, I thought I’d give her beautiful color combo a try!  I added a vellum strip with the “birthday” sentiment stamped from the DC Happy Everything set from MFT, and the happy was die-cut in silver metallic card stock using the Happy Duo Die-Namics.  I embellished simply with a few silver sequins.

If you’re lucky enough to have today off work (as I am!) then please enjoy your Monday!  Or well, regardless of what your Monday brings, I hope you are happy and blessed!

Sending You Prayers

Hello friends!  I’m back today with another card I just made.  I’m still struggling with a lack of motivation for stamping so this time around I CASE’d this card from one of my talented stamping friends… Lisa Henke!

I combined two challenges on my card.  The first one is a challenge I just discovered, the Word Art Wednesday challenge.  Their challenge #217 is Anything Goes, as long as your creation is family-friendly and includes words of encouragement.  And I used the colors for Color Throwdown #375, as well.  Here’s my card…



The gray tag was die-cut with a retired die from My Favorite Things, and I added two flags of patterned paper also from MFT.  The “sending you prayers” sentiment is from the Hero Arts Exclusive Prayers Stamps and Dies set from Simon Says Stamp, and the large Grid Background stamp is also from Simon Says.  On the tag, I added a white Double Garland Confetti Cuts banner from Reverse Confetti.  I embellished with some plaid ribbon (NO idea where I got that ribbon, but it’s perfect for the Throwdown colors!) and some golden yellow sequins.

Sending this card to my aunt in Florida who had a pacemaker placed today!

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Seriously...

Hello friends!  Happy New Year!  I just  have a quick card to share with you today, using the colors for the current Color Throwdown #374, and the sketch from The Challenge #55.  You may or may not have noticed that I’m no longer a member of the Color Throwdown team.  After almost 7 years, I decided it was time to step down from the team I helped found.  I’m so grateful to all the girls on that team who have stepped up to take over several of the tasks I kept up with each week, and I hope they keep going for many, many more years!

So here’s my card using the colors that Broni chose for this week…

The last time I used this Seriously Word die from Lil’ Inker Designs I mentioned that it was quickly becoming my go-to for belated birthday cards.  And here I am, using it again!  (Thinking maybe I need to address the fact that I seem to be sending a lot of late birthday cards?)  I added a stamped sentiment from the Seriously Awesome Sentiments stamp set, and die cut some flowers from the Perky Posies.  The Posies and the die-cut circle were watercolored, and I embellished with some enamel dots and clear sequins.

I used the sketch from The Challenge, flipping it like a mirror so my flowers ended up on the left side.  (Realized too late though, that the deadline to enter had passed.)

That’s all for today… it’s the first card I’ve actually made in a long time.  I’m hoping it inspires me to get another one made very soon!  My mojo is still missing… whoever has it, please send it back!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Favorites for 2015

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and are ready to begin a new year!

I don't know if this is the "trendy" thing to do anymore, but I've always loved looking back through the past year and picking out my favorite cards from each month.  I found this year to be a little easier to choose from, probably because I just don't find myself doing much stamping anymore.  Not sure why, but if you see my mojo, please tell it to come back home!

But anyway, here are my favorites from 2015!  I hope you like them, too!

In January, I created this card with the To Thine Own Shelf stamp set from Simon Says Stamp...

 

 

For February, without a doubt my favorite card(s) were these beauties made with the Delightful Dahlias from Papertrey Ink...

 

 

 

In March, I just couldn't resist this cute card using Whale of a Time from The Cat's Pajamas.  (This stamp set may no longer be available, as I can't seem to find it on the TCP website.)

 

 

 

In April, there was no other choice but this card made with my beloved Kitchen Sink Stamps!  There is always going to be a really soft spot in my heart for KSS as it was the very first design team I was ever asked to join, and Maria (the owner) could not be a sweeter person!  Plus, the bicycle I used on this card comes from the Multi-Step Bicycle stamp set that I had a hand in designing!

 

 

 

I CASE'd a card from the fabulous Betsy Veldman back in May, and created this card using the Text Block Birthday die from Papertrey Ink.  The sweet co-worker I gave it to still has it on the bulletin board in her office!

 

 

 

The Birdie Brown You Gnome Me stamp set from My Favorite Things was definitely a good purchase this past year, and helped me make this fun card back in June...

 

 

 

SO much of my stamping budget got spent at Simon Says Stamp this year!  (DON'T tell my husband!)  I couldn't resist the fun leaf-shapes in this new One With Nature stamp set, used on this card I made back in July...

 

 

 

My word, did Tim Holtz ever hit a home run with the release of those Crazy Birds this past year, or what?  I resisted the urge to buy them for a month or two, but I finally gave in.  I paired one of those Crazy Birds with this seriously fabulous Seriously die from Lil' Inker Designs for this card that was sent to my youngest as she began her first days in college back in August!

 

 

 

This little giraffe from Wplus9 Design Party Animal stamp set was also one I couldn't resist this past year!  And since my oldest daughter loves giraffes, this card was perfect for her 23rd birthday back in September!

 

 

 

In October, I tried my hand at some no-line coloring with my Copics.  Have to say, I love how it looks and there are a few people out there who do a spectacular job with it, but I'll just stick to coloring within the lines!  But here's a favorite using another darling Birdie Brown stamp set, the Harvest Mouse...

 



 











In November, I CASE'd this card from Lindsay Amhrein using the Smile Circle die from Simon Says Stamp...

 

 

 

And finally, without a doubt my favorite card from December was this one using the Merry & Bright stamp set and matching Confetti Cuts die from Reverse Confetti.

 

 



 

I hope you've enjoyed this stroll through the past year with me!  Thank you for stopping by, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!





Color Throwdown #373

Hello friends!  The weeks and the year are just flying by, and here we are on another Wednesday and it’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge!  It’s our last challenge for the year, and so we’re taking it easy on everyone this week…

For today’s challenge, all you have to do is create something Christmas-y in any colors!  You can even share something you’ve already made and posted in the past month.  BUT, please be sure to check out all the details for the challenge this week on the CTD blog because there are a few modifications to the guidelines this time around.

So, I’ve been dying to show you my card for today… I actually made it way back on the first weekend in November when I was away on a stamping retreat weekend!  I was so happy with how it turned out!

I found this sketch from September on my Pinterest board as inspiration, and used the fabulous new Merry & Bright stamp set and matching Confetti Cuts die from Reverse Confetti for my card design.  The watercolor wash in the background uses Ranger Distress inks…. I think I used Pine Needles and Iced Spruce, but like I said… I made this about 6 weeks ago!  LOL  I also used the Reverse Confetti Winter Words Coordinates stamps to complete the “Joy to the World” phrase.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for all the details, and please visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration….

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Torico, December Guest Designer
Kandi Phillips, Guest Star Stamper

Have a great day!

Color Throwdown #372

It's Color Throwdown time again, and this week my BFF Barbara is our hostess with these non-traditional, but FABULOUS colors for Christmas!  I hope you'll jump on over to the CTD blog, check out the challenge, and join us!

Here's my card...

I had some fun with this cutie-patootie from the Birdie Brown Merry Christmoose stamp set from My Favorite Things, coloring the image with Copics and die-cutting with the matching Die-Namics.  The background, stamped with Kraft hybrid ink, is the BG Distressed Stripes.  I added the sentiment on a Kraft card stock flag, and added a silver flag underneath.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and please visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…. 

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Torico, December Guest Designer
Gerrina, Guest Star Stamper

Happy Wednesday, and thank you for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #371

Hello friends!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Wanda is our hostess with these elegant colors…

The stripes in these packages spoke to me, as well as the colors so I grabbed my Wide Stripes background stamp from Simon Says Stamp and got busy…

The stripes were stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink, but just weren’t black enough so I used a metal ruler and went over them with my black Copic marker.  Then I used the Hand Lettered Hello die from Wplus9 Design with metallic gold card stock, and stamped the sentiment from the Hand Lettered Hello stamp set.  I embellished with some gold sequins to complete my simple design.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and greet our December Guest Designer, the fabulous Torico!  And please visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…. 

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Torico, December Guest Designer

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

Color Throwdown #370

Hi there, and happy day-before-Thanksgiving!  It's time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and today Vickie has some fun colors for you!

Now, you'll see on the Color Throwdown blog that the team members all thought "snowman" but I was more original than that, as you can see here!  (Bahahahahaha!)

 

 

I saw the orange and immediately thought of my Reverse Confetti Fresh 'n Fruity stamp set!  Maybe I'm just wishing to be in the tropics instead of preparing to deal with snow?  I completely forgot to take a picture of the inside of my card, but on the inside I stamped the "it's your birthday" sentiment, and added another orange.  Behind the oranges I added a vellum tag cut with the Tag Me Confetti Cuts die.  And my Grid Background comes from Simon Says Stamp.

 

 

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration….  Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Karolyn Loncon, November Guest Designer
Mona Pendleton, Guest Star Stamper


Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!  "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!"  1 Chronicles 16:34

Oh, Ship!

I realized this weekend that my Aunt Rose has a birthday today.  And since I didn't have a card ready to send her, I knew any card I ended up sending would be late (since she lives three hours away from me!) So I made this quick card on Sunday night to send her, and hope she'll get the joke and love it!

I've had this Naughty Nautical stamp set from Simon Says Stamp for what seems like forever, and finally got around to using it!  I kept it simple and used the sketch from the current Share Joy Challenge #12 for this week.  AND (I'm SO happy!) I finally got my Silhouette working properly again, so I was able to cut out that little set of banner flags across the top! 

AND, I'm so happy that it's a 3-day week, and that Thanksgiving is on the way!  I hope you have a blessed day!

Color Throwdown #369

It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and I’m your hostess this week!  I’ve got a nice warm and cozy Fall color palette for everyone today.  What will you create with this rusty orange, rich burgundy and pear-like green?

For my card, I pulled out my sweet Wreath Confetti Cuts die from Reverse Confetti to make this birthday card for my wonderful friend, Beth…

I started by stamping the background with my Wide Stripes background stamp from Simon Says Stamp, and die cut the wreath from kraft card stock.  (Remember, neutrals are OK!)  Then I added a Fall Florals  bouquet to the side, and stamped a birthday sentiment from the Totally Happy stamp set (both from My Favorite Things.)

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration….

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Karolyn Loncon, November Guest Designer
Annie Rosenstiel, Guest Star Stamper

Your visits and comments bless my day… thanks for stopping by!

Seriously…

I’ve always had intentions of participating in the Montly Meet-Up challenge from Lil’ Inker Designs...

I’m getting in under the wire for the challenge this month with this card that I made over the weekend…

The challenge this month is to use stars in your design, and unfortunately my Lil’ Inker collection isn’t that big so I don’t have any star dies or stamps.  So I used a star stencil and a watercolor wash of Spun Sugar and PIcked Raspberry distress inks to make my background.  Then used my favorite Seriously Word Die from Lil’ Inker and added a sentiment from the Seriously Awesome companion stamp set.  I added a thin layer of Glossy Accents to the die-cut for a little extra texture…



It’s kind of marginal as far as qualifying for the challenge, but it was fun to make anyway, and will come in handy next time I need a thank you card!  :)

I also utilized CAS(E) This Sketch #149 for my layout on this card, and even though the challenge is over I used the Runway Inspired challenge #95 as inspiration for the starry background and the colors.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #368

Hello friends!  It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge.  This week, Lori is our hostess and with this combination of colors she picked, you can go in quite a few directions with your creation…

I chose to create a Christmas card with these colors, utilizing some fun products from Reverse Confetti…

I die-cut the word merry from pink card stock using the Winter Words Confetti Cuts, then applied some Glossy Accents for dimension and shine.  I completed the sentiment by stamping “Christmas” from the Winter Word Coordinates stamps on a strip of dark gray card stock, embossing with detail white embossing powder.  The Christmas tree was die-cut using the Branch Out Confetti Cuts.  My layout was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches #211 from last week.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration….

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Karolyn Loncon, November Guest Designer
Andrea Whisman, Guest Star Stamper

We hope you’ll join us this week for the Color Throwdown!  Thanks for stopping by today!

A Latte Birthday Wishes

Happy Monday!  Well, OK... maybe it's not THAT happy?  I'm bummed that the weekend is over because I spent the last three days in a hotel conference room with some of the best stamping friends ever, and all we did all weekend was stamp, eat, stamp, talk and STAMP!  It was awesome... can't wait to do it again in the Spring!  I managed to crank out 8 cards, which is less than what I had hoped for but still pretty good.  One of the cards I made included this one, using the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #294 for the layout... 

 

I used the LLD Stay Cool stamp set, and LLD Cool Cup Die-Namics from My Favorite Things for this card.  The cup was die-cut from watercolor paper, and I used an ink blending tool to add Ground Espresso, Vintage Photo, and Antique Linen distress inks to look like the cool coffee drink.  I used an aquabrush to smooth out the colors a little, then when I was satisfied I used a watered-down mixture of Glossy Accents to give the cup a shiny look.  This photo below shows a little bit of that gloss, as well as the acetate dome-lid on the cup… 

Hopefully she won't see this before next Saturday as I made this card for my Starbucks loving niece, who has a birthday coming up!  And because it’s for my niece, this fits perfectly into the “Create Something with the Letter N” challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I hope you had a great weekend, and that your week is off to a good start!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Coffee is ALWAYS a Good Idea!

Hello friends!  I have a little project to share with you today… I made this for my daughter as part of the Share Handmade Kindness challenge for this week…

My daughter is a coffee lover, and an animal lover… and she’s particularly partial to her black cat, Finnick.  So I picked up this adorable Newton Loves Coffee stamp set from Newton’s Nook when I was at the Simon Says Create event a few weeks ago, knowing it’d be perfect to make things for Kelsey.  And the other day I remembered these denim mini canvases that my BFF Barbara Anders sent me for my birthday last Spring, and an idea was hatched!  So I made this for Kelsey to put on her kitchen counter (she’s away at school right now, training to be a Vet Tech!) next to her Keurig!  I got to give it to her last night when she made a quick trip home with some friends to retrieve a much-needed item, and she loved it!  Without me even saying anything, she said “I can put this on the counter by my Keurig!”  That’s my girl!

I hope you have a fantastic day!  Thanks for visiting me today!

Color Throwdown #367

The fabulous Jodi Collins is our Color Throwdown hostess today, and she’s got a lovely palette of colors for you to play with…

As far as I’m concerned, coral is always a beautiful color to play with so I really enjoyed this combination of colors.  I used my Clearly Besotted Fairytale Ending stamp set to create this sympathy card…

I used the matching die to cut out the floral spray from watercolor card stock, then used my MISTI to stamp the image in Versamark and embossed with detail white embossing powder.  Then I colored with my ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers.  The watercolor background was created with Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint distress inks. For the “gold” in our color palette, I went with a muted gold and used Liquid Platinum embossing powder on my sentiment.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration.  And help us welcome our new Guest Designer for November, Karolyn Loncon!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Karolyn Loncon, November Guest Designer

Your visit to my blog today is a blessing, and I appreciate it!

You Make Me Smile

Hello friends!  I just wanted to pop in quickly today with this card I made.  I really wanted to join in the CASE’ing Genius One Year Anniversary challenge being sponsored by Kelly Latevola.  I hope to make a few more cards, but for my first one I decided to CASE my genius friend Lindsay Amrhein …



I just loved Lindsay’s card HERE (well, I love pretty much everything Lindsay makes!) and it’s what got me started with ink smooshing, which is what I did for the background on this card.  I used the same Smile Circle die from Simon Says Stamp that Lindsay used on her card… picked it up last week when I was in Columbus at the Simon Says event, and am glad I did!  There were some darling sample cards on display using that die!  I embellished with a shiny silver bundle of thread behind the circle (check out the picture up at the top for a better view) and embellished with some Sparkling Clear Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

And this makes another card I can enter in the Share Handmade Kindness challenge for this week for friends and family.  I plan to send this card to my awesome cousin Pam, who so sweetly sent me something in the mail last week!

My card definitely isn’t as fabulous as Lindsay’s but I hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #366

Hi friends!  We’ve got another Color Throwdown challenge for you today, and Joan is our hostess with this wonderful Fall color combo…

I have always loved shades of orange with shades of aqua, so this was right up my alley!  I decided this week to try my hand at some no-line coloring with my Copics using this sweet Harvest Mouse stamp set…

For my card layout, I used the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #292.  The polka dot paper I used is from Papertrey Ink.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Michelle Boyer, October Guest Designer
Ashwini Rao, Guest Star Stamper

Your visit is a blessing to me today!  Thanks for stopping by!

The Apple of My Pie

I had a pretty joy-filled weekend… I spent all day Saturday with my wonderful hubby, who so willingly drove me to Columbus so I could go to the Simon Says Create event!  While I went shopping, he headed to the metro park across the road and went for a hike.  He doesn’t have pictures of his adventures (because he stubbornly refuses a smart phone!) but here’s a great photo of the fun I had…

Doesn’t it look like I had fun???  I even got to meet Heidi from Simon Says Stamp, and she was such a sweetheart!  I didn’t take any of the classes that were offered, but the ladies who were there for the classes sure seemed like they were having a great time, so I’m thinking I will probably partake next year!  (Especially since hubby had such a nice time at the metro park… plus there was a Cabella’s nearby!)  We even stopped at Hobby Lobby on the way home, and had Bob Evans twice!  LOL

The first thing I had to do after getting home was a little bit of organizing, and then some STAMPING with my new goodies!  Since hubby has a birthday this coming Thursday, the new Apple of My Pie stamp set from Simon Says was just perfect…

I tried several variations of coloring the images with watercolors, but just didn’t like the look so I went with my Copics.  I fussy-cut the slice of pie and mounted it on front of the apples with foam boosters.  Then thought it needed a little something more so I added the leaf.  The papers I used are just from my stash, and I embellished with some sequins.  For the layout, I was inspired by the current Retro Sketch #187.

OK, back to stamping… there are a LOT more new goodies to play with!

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today!