Congratulations

There is a new designer over at Muse. This week Jenni provides a lovely layered and softly colored card.

I was inspired by the design,  layers, the soft inking and the diecut image.  I am unexpectedly in need of a new baby card.  Being in my mid 50's without children I have very few instances for baby cards and have no baby images in my stamp stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Kitty Love

I really need to get Valentines made!  I am trying to find the mojo to get it done.  I started with this card,  I used the inspiration from Casology's cue word this week.

This card is for my Dad from his two adorable bundles of fun and fur Digger and Jack. They absolutely adore my Dad so this card is a perfect Valentine from them to him.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

One Layer

Merry Monday 's challenge this week is :

These are had for me as I normally work on a card front piece that is attached to a card base, so that I don't waste a lot of card stock. So I decided on a masked card for my one layer.  An old and much loved Hero Arts stamp set was used.

Happy Holiday Trees -Hero Arts

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lantern

I love this little lantern by De Nami designs, and I don't get to use it enough. So, when the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge called for candles or lanterns I was so there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Top Row

Share Joy Challenge # 19 - Sketch and /or Tic Tac Toe

 

I used the top row.

I am sending this card to one of my gal pals just because we all need a little pink now and again.

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine

I have no umph to make Valentines - yes I know they need to be mailed soon.  I also started an Online Card Class today and I am boycotting my homework...so much great fabulous information I am overwhelmed. I need to let it percolate a bit before I jump in.

I took a look through my saved challenges and due dates and knew as soon as I saw Michele's sketch I had to make a card for Case this Sketch #156.

I always seem to need a masculine card and I thought that this sketch along with a few stamps would really fit my needs.

HA Exotic Bloom, Year Round Sentiments, Granite Ink, SSS Fog Ink

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Thinking of you

While checking out my friend Greta's blog, I came across a new to me blog, and decided to play along.
The prompt at Addicted to Stamps and More is:

I got out my Sakura water-colors and played.  Since it is snowing here in Maryland tonight, I was moved to create a winter themed card.

Two Simon Says Stamp sets - Hand Lettered Winter Wishes and Cute Snowflakes

This one is going to my Dad, I try to send him a card 2-3 times a month.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Edited to add: I am also linking this up over at Jenn Shurkus' Coolest Card Series - Watercolor (thanks Becca )

Casology 181

The cue at Casology 181 this week is:

I thought about this one. Shaker card, Acetate card, hmmmm...around about midnight I had an idea that involved neither acetate nor shaker bits.

I have a friend who could use a pick-me-up. I know she's been feeling like she is living under a cloud lately.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Birthday

Another Birthday card, I need quite a few at the beginning of the year. This card was inspired by Seize the Birthday's Anything Goes with a topping of Clean and Simple challenge. I may have veered off the CAS road--thankfully there is also anything goes for the challenge.

I stamped and masked Hero Arts' Classic bloom, colored in several shades of yellow with copic markers, and added the sentiment a la Kelly Latevola style with a portion outlined in white to make it stand out against the flower petals.  My finishing touches were ombre sequins from A Muse and a thing black strip along the left edge. I mounted the front onto a yellow cardbase (stampin up).

Thanks for stopping by!

Case this sketch 155

Such a fun challenge graphic over at Case this Sketch #155.

I immediately thought of Simon's Stitched Flourish Ribbon to create that zag across the card front.

Technique Tuesday Agapanthus, Simon Says Stamp Stitched flourish Ribbon Die, WRMK Embossing folder Gemstone set, Sentiment Stamping Up Happy Birthday Everyone

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Open

The cue at Casology this week is:

 

I so struggled with this one, but I am posting them anyway.

Thanks for stopping by, really thanks!

Mix it up MFT and EE

A quick post tonight!

Click on banner for Challenge Link

Ellen's Wild Garden Dies, MFT's Fishtail Flag Stax and Simply Fabulous Sayings

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Ombre at Simon Says

I am playing along at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog, the theme is Ombre.  Design team members are using Hero Arts products, and I spied a long neglected but much loved butterfly stamp on my wall.

I grabbed a long neglected though much loved stamp -- Artists Butterfly along with a birthday sentiment from the Hero Arts set -- Say it All.  The butterfly was stamped on a piece of coloring paper I had already die cut with Simons' postage stamp edge dies.

I will admit I got the sentiment on crooked and after all that coloring to achieve the ombre, there was no way I was going to start over, so I just mounted it a bit wonky on a coordinating card base (island blue-sss) added some matching blue gems and this one's ready for mailing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Muse 148

Anita Bowden has made us such an adorable get well card for this week's Muse Challenge...I just had to case it.

Her card :

 

I found some small-ish flowers on a Simon Says Stamp set, and got out my journaling pen to doodle some lines connecting them.  Then I  colored them with Copics added a matching gem in each center, a bit of glitter tape and that's my take on her sweet card. The sentiment is from Altenew.

Thanks for stopping by!

Plaid at Merry Monday

Christmas cards, last year I had about 25 or so in my stash at the end of October. Between hubs, myself and my Dad more than 80 were mailed out.  I did a lot of stamping, cutting and coloring in November.  This year I hope to have to do less so I can breath!

This week at Merry Monday # 187 the theme is Plaid.  I have no plaid paper, I have had no luck creating plaid patterns, but then I looked at my wall of wood stamps and I found the Hero Arts Large Plaid Background stamp.To counter all those straight lines, I added some scallops.

Thanks for stopping by!

Get well season

Seems like people all around are getting the sniffles or worse.  I have quite a few get well, feel better type cards to make.  This one was inspired by the Fusion Card Challenge.

 

I went with the photo inspiration.  I grabbed two A Muse sets Pretty Peonies and Everyday Greetings and went to work.  I added in the Hero Arts tweed pattern stencil as well.

I used inks by Simon Says Stamp - Green Leaf, Duckling, and Hero Arts Inks Butter bar, Lemon yellow, Bubblegum and a mis-died Passion flower (the correct color is more purple instead of the light pink) Versafine Onyx Black.  Each of the darker flowers is winked up with clear Wink of Stella, and a few tiny gems were added as well.

Thanks much for stopping by!

Sending Love

How is it that it seems it was just Sunday evening, and now I am about to ring in the wee hours of Thursday?  When I was working weeks never ever went by this quickly!

I really wanted to play Case this sketch # 154, its a great sketch -- so many ideas will work with this one. I am getting it in just under the wire.

I combined two Simon Says Stamp sets (Cute snowflakes and Sending happy thoughts) along with some black, grey and red ink to keep it fairly simple and it needed a smattering of clear PPP sequins for balance.

Thanks for stopping by!

early morning crafting

This might be a first. I am awake and crafting at 8 am eastern time. There is no scramble, no alarm clock, no reason I can think of that I would be awake a mere 4 hours after going to bed...and wide awake at that.

I scrolled through the challenges I had saved but not played and found three that might play nicely together.

But first the card:

Stamps- Hero Arts S5654, CL342, Inks- SSS High Dive, Hero Arts Soft Pool

I wanted a masculine card to send to my Dad. The sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #218 really caught my eye.  This also was a really simple card to make so I am also submitting it to Casology #179 code word Simple. Lastly it is definitely a masculine card and anything goes at The Male Room #26.  Man cards are often tough for me, but this one works and my Dad will love it.

       

You can visit the challenges by clicking the written links or the icons above. Now I just might need a little nap!  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

A fomula

Today I played in a Hero Arts Scramble. I have participated since October I think. I kept having conflicts.  Today I had a bit of a conflict as well, but this was a 24 hour scramble so I opened the scramble discussion on the Hero Arts Group page in Flickr, and set the timer on my Ipad.  Janet, our hostess, had a fun scramble for us.  It was a formula or recipe challenge. There were two choices. I went with choice number one.

2-colors (excluding neutrals)
0-die cuts
1-Hero Arts Stamp(background or image) or stencil (sentiments were freebies)
6-embellishments

I thought this was fun and clever on her part.  After 56 minutes and 33 seconds I had posted this card:

Hero Arts (Stamp CL574 Say it all; Stencil SA051 Floral Filagree)

I started a list of the cards I need this week. 10 were on the list, 6 were made yesterday. This is the first of two birthday cards I need, and it also meets the "anything goes" over at Seize the Birthday, so I am entering it there.

 


Have a fabulous evening and thanks for stopping by!

Round two with the Kit

I had several more thank you cards to make, so I went back to the January Simon Says Stamp card kit.  I used white card bases and the card kit contents supplemented by a Simon Says Stamp Thanks die, a Winnie and Walter Thanks Cutaway(die) and some Close to my Heart glitter tape.  I am much happier with this set of cards than the  first digging into this kit posted here.  I think this is a record for me, 10 cards from one kit and I still have lots of paper, snowflakes tape, and glitter dots left over.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

100 Reasons to send a card

This is a bit of an unconventional post.  I came across an "article" while searching for something on the web.  I bookmarked it and I think I am going to have fun playing with it this year.   I have abridged the list below, but the full posting can be found here.
 

1. To offer a random compliment.
   • Fact: 100% of people enjoy receiving compliments. Fact #2: Your hair looks great today.
2. To share a recipe.
   • Add one tablespoon of friendship …
3. As a joke.
   • Sending your 45-year-old friend three “Happy Quinceañera” cards will get a laugh.
4. To recognize made-up holidays.
   • Happy Lumpy Rug Day. Because apparently that’s a thing. 
5. To make fun of a friend’s fantasy sports team.
   • Sometimes the message board isn’t enough to get your point across.
6. To play a move in chess.
   • Old school, right? One move per day gives you some time to strategize.
7. To prove your psychic powers.
   • Make some predictions, mail them to yourself, get the date postmarked on it, have your friends open it once your predictions come true.
8. To wish a happy half-birthday.
   • Send half a card now and the other half on their real birthday.
9. To compliment someone’s outfit.
   • Better yet, keep a stack of these cards in your purse. Fab fashion can strike at any time.
10. To share a random fact.
    • Did you know alligators love marshmallows?
11. To ask a bunch of unanswerable questions.
    • Why do 24-hour stores have locks on their doors? Aren’t platypuses weird?
12. To console a recent empty nester.
    • They’ll learn to love the sound of a silent house while the kids are off at school.
13. To possibly make someone a millionaire.
    • Put a lottery ticket in there. If your numbers hit, it will be an unbelievable story.
14. To give someone a high five.
    • Open card, firmly place hand here.
15. To congratulate someone for making it through their first month of parenthood.
    • It’s sink or swim. And they swam.
16. To wish someone a Happy Shark Week.
    • They’ve been waiting all year for this. Everyone has.
17. To congratulate someone on their first touchdown, goal or home run.
    • Points on the scoreboard, cards on the fridge.
18. To complain about something.
    • An email won’t get a response. A card won’t get ignored as easily.
19. To console someone after the death of a pet.
    • Furry family members are still family members.
20. To remind someone you love them.
    • Those three magical words. Surrounded by a bunch of other magical words.
21. To fight homesickness.
    • Mom and dad would love to hear from you.
22. To say “I was wrong.”
    • You totally were. Swallow your pride with sincerity.
23. To celebrate the seasons.
    • Share your summer with friends.
24. To console someone on their birthday.
    • Not everyone loves adding a year to their age. Commiserate accordingly with an unhappy birthday card.
25. To reconnect with your best friends from high school.
    • They’re your oldest friends. What time and space separates, thoughtfulness and humanity reunites.
26. To use handmade emojis.
    • Always wished a white wine emoji was a thing? Make it happen.
27. To tell someone you miss them.
    • Who knows? They may even miss you, too.
28. To congratulate someone for finally quitting a job they hated.
    • Sometimes it’s OK to be a quitter.
29. To share a random memory with someone.
    • Some of the best sentences start with “Remember when …”
30. Just because.
    • Why not? 
    
    Take a look at the list for yourself and see if something catches your eye.  Thanks for stopping by, I will be back soon with some actual cards.
    

Muse Michele

Michele is back at it as this week's Muse.  She's created a fun smart card in black white and red. I love that pop of red, and the oval center piece...those were my inspiration points.

 

Stamps - Altenew, Simon Says Stamp; Dies-MFT, Lawn Fawn; Embossing folder - WRMK; Ribbon-Amuse

Both the stamp and the embossing folder are new to my stash, so this one is also going to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge-Something New.



Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Play Day

Tuesday I had my play day as I call it with the crafty ladies.  We meet most Tuesdays at the home of one of the gals - she has a fabulous space that holds 8 comfortably.  I will usually prep before going with pre cut stamped panels for cards, sometimes I crochet, and soon I might work on some scrapbook pages -- I am about 18 months behind. I finally brought some of my favorite scrappy items back from California this last trip and am looking forward to catching up.

This week I played with a new stamp set from Altenew - Fresh Freesia. I love the smell of Freesia's and that they come in so many different colors. Endless card possibilities.  I know its still winter, but I need to color flowers!

I made one card for a challenge it is posting tomorrow, and made these as well. The last two are my favorites.

Cut marks - Avery Elle

Die - WPlus9

Die Wplus9

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!