Sweet Hello

 Hello, how's it going with you?

There's still one more day of August left so here's a sweet summery hello card.  I've been wanting to feature the Lemon Blossoms stamps and dies from The Greetery all summer long.  This time I began stamping on bright yellow card stock for the lemons. They zing, for sure!

I was reminded today that yellow is a good color for cheering someone up. It's also my favorite color! I combined patterns of designer paper and added a black narrow mat. The white panel and fruits are on foam tape to add dimension.

I'm happily in time to share this at Freshly Made Sketches. They are always inspiring! 

I hope you feel inspired by your visit to my blog today. I'm sure glad that you came!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Must Love Dogs

 Hello friends, hope things are going well for you. It's a very hot lazy summer afternoon here. If you're in the path of the storm, my thoughts and prayers are with you!

We went for a walk last evening and as we approached a man walking his gold-doodle she came running up to me wagging her tail. She must have known that I love dogs!  I enthusiastically greeted her. I've been seeing everyone's photos for National Dog Day and missing our Josie who we lost about a year ago. 
Here's a dog that's adorable too! 

I loved this Porch Swing Friends set  (Newton's Nook) and added it to my stash recently. I couldn't wait to color these two cozy critters. I used my colored pencils (Inktense) and a slightly damp brush to add a light wash of water for each image. 

Playing along with the sketch at Mojo Monday and Darnell's fun and fabulous NBUS Challenge.  

 Thanks so much for joining me today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Exciting news and an invitation!

 Hello friends! You know that I love playing with card challenges and I'm happy to announce the new Color Hues Card Challenge created by Nancy Leppek, which debuts soon. You'll be invited to play along and I am so looking forward to that day. 
For today, we are announcing the Color Hues Design Team. I am so honored to be included with these talented ladies.

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Please check out the Color Hues blog. You will find information on the challenge and links to each DT member and their blogs. I am sure you will be as excited as I am! 

Having a new venue to create, inspire and be inspired, make new friendships and encourage others is so important to me. And you! So let's get stamping! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

You're the Best!

 Hi there! Can it be the last week of August already? I am in denial. Nor did I know that I'd be taking a week off from card making last week, it just happened. I'm glad to be back! 

Made a quick and simple card today, using some retired papers in primary colors from MFT, and a new die from SSS.  Here you go! 

The inspiration came from the talented team at The Paper Players. Here's the sketch LeAnne provided. 

I had trouble getting this together because I was trying to fit in an image I had already colored. I gave that up and went with the paper first, then the rest was easy! I added a circle to make my stitched rectangle into a tag, and added a twine bow. The stars have glossy accents for shine. 
That's all from me today! I will be back tomorrow for sure. Hope you are keeping on and doing well. Creating today brought me welcome refreshment. Wishing you the same!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Glory to the Newborn King

 Hello there! With all my talk of loving summer themes, I bet you wondered when I'd break out the Christmas stamps. I just had to make my first Christmas card of the season today. 

I couldn't wait to use the Rosy Cosy Christmas DSP that just arrived in my mailbox. I just love the gorgeous patterns and colors of this double-sided paper pad.  It seemed a perfect fit for the sketch by Jen B at Freshly Made Sketches. She suggested that we could keep it simple or dress it up. I opted to use gold embossing and elements to add some sparkle! I snipped the small holly leaves directly from the paper to embellish and used foam behind the DSP panel for increased dimension. 

The inside is also completed, so this one is ready to go!

I will also post in Darnell's NBUS Challenge.

Thanks for coming by today!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps are from Neat & Tangled

Dies are from The Greetery

Keep Swimming

 Hello! I know that I've missed a few posts but I have been enjoying these last days of summer so much! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. 

I'm still holding out with a summery set or two that I hope will see ink before the official change of the season. When I saw the color choices at The Paper Players I knew that it was time to create an underwater scene. 

I really didn't feel like fussing too much, so imagine my delight to find the die cut oval and inlaid inked pieces already assembled and tucked in the envelope with the stamps. I had inked white card stock and spattered it with water and a few sprays of dark ink. I added the flora and fauna and a sentiment banner. Keep swimming is certainly an appropriate sentiment for these times. 

I had the fun last week of swimming at the pool with our young grands. Little E is one plus some and wanted to jump off the side of the pool into her Mama's arms. Miss G is able to put her face in and go! Now you know what kept me busy and happy. 

Here's to hoping you find a splash of fun in your day! Thanks for coming to share in some of mine.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

 Playing along as closely as I could to these bold and pretty colors. The card base is Pool Party card stock. Stamps and dies are the Salt Air Flora and Fauna combo by Papertrey Ink.

Lake Time Fun from Hero Arts

Greetings to you!  Summertime. And the livin' is easy. Especially as we enjoy time on our nearby lake where we can fish or boat. Many swim too. In case I needed any more reasons for adding the Lake Time Fun stamps to my stash I might add how versatile the silhouetted images are!

 I pulled out the Derwent Inktense pencils and scribbled three colors then washed over them with a wet brush, creating three softly striped watercolor scenes.

The rectangles were placed in the frame and the images were stamped in black, die cut and adhered on top. No dimension this time! This card is headed for the grands to tell them that Papa and I miss them. Inside the sentiment reads, "You are the catch of the day!" Another slim card, ready to mail. 

We aren't expecting too much trouble from hurricane Isaiahs but since we're in NC we are battening down the hatches and preparing for a very rainy night. 

Hope to see you soon! Thanks so much for visiting. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!