Under the Tree

 Hello and welcome to my blog on this cold, rainy day. A perfect kind of Monday to get creative with some new wintry die cuts to make a card for the sketch at The Paper Players. For winter and Christmas I seem to have acquired three new packs of DSP so I set out to use some for a snowy scene. 

I love to make snow men IRL but rarely have the chance since I'm living in SC. Making a die cut snowman brings fond memories of childhood play. Aren't all snow men just a little bit wonky? This one sure is. 

The new-to-me supplies are the papers from Doodlebug Design 6x6 Snow Much Fun pack; Snowcapped Tree Die from Waffle Flower, and Festive Snow Globe Dies from Concord & 9th. The sentiment is from a favorite from PB -  the Jolly Snippets set. 

Simple embellishment details come from Glossy accents added to the carrot and the hat, an iridescent white cord bow, and Stickles added to the snowflakes.

Here's the lovely sketch providing inspiration by the Paper Players.

 Also adding this to NBUS and the Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

Thanks so much for coming by, hope it's been a great day for you!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

ETA: what makes this snowman wonky? Well, the googly eyes for one thing. Secondly, the die doesn't include arms for this guy! So that he fits in the snow globe, I'm guessing. 

Sending Hugs with Build A Wreath

It's been a long week, I'm still under the weather with vertigo, unfortunately. I think it's caused by allergies. Hopefully the cooler weather will come with showers to make everything fresh and new again, including me! New and feeling much better would be a great forecast to me. 

I couldn't decide if my wreath would be for fall or Christmas. In all, I ditched the fall-ish one and went with my take #2 which has a more evergreen vibe, possibly for Christmas. You will have to see what you think. 

I used my lovely Concord & 9th card stock in colors of Artichoke and Juniper for the leaves, and Nectar and Sorbet for the bow and card panel. I really love the way the greenish blue and the olive colors combined nicely for the wreath. The etched Build A Wreath Dies and Garden Wreath Add-ons from Spellbinders were used to create a variety of twigs, sprigs and leaves meticulously arranged for the wreath. Berries were added with Gold Luxe drops from Nuvo that have iridescent shine.

Although I like the result, this card was a bit too fiddly to create. It is my first time using the dies, so as NBUS (never-been-used-schtuff) the card will be heading over to the gallery at Darnell's. I was also inspired to play at Tic Tac Toe challenge where I chose the options of Wreath, Free, and Matching Envelope. 

It was enjoyable coordinating the envelope, and not something I usually think about. 

That wraps up my week, hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

View Through the Window

 Hello and welcome back! I set out to make a card today for two challenges, and I have just realized that the sketch challenge at Freshly Made is about to close! So this will be a quickly dashed off post! Hope you don't mind. 

Here's the sketch that I used from Freshly Made and the challenge at The Paper Players was Clean and Simple asking for foliage. I loved using the Through the Window Dies (SSS)  and La La Land In the City papers for these cards. The Leafy Layers dies are from C9. 

Here's another card that I made. It feels really good making cards with supplies that I really fell in love with. 

The other part of my time crunch? I'm off to Swing Dance class with my dear man who is dazzling on the dance floor or off. I hope to edit a bit more of the details for you later. See ya later!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Additional thoughts: The top card uses a color combo of Nectar and Sunflower card stock. I've seen these hues trending together and had to give it a try. The pop of black is what seems to make it work for me. The second card base is the palest pink, Ballet Slipper. On this card, there is acetate over the scene to make the window, and the corner edge is popped open slightly. 

Keeping Cozy in the Sunshine

 Hello from me on another stay-at-home Saturday.  It is a lovely warm day full of sunshine although this morning it was cool enough on my walk to wear a sweater. 
Sweaters, it seems, are what this post is all about! 

I didn't have much stamping going on this week. I'm still having trouble with vertigo. But one thing led to another in the craft space. Ta-da! Here's what I made. 

I spent way too time much looking at cards and card challenges online. When I stumbled onto the Word Art Wednesday challenge I saw that they were encouraging use of Concord & 9th products AND offering a lucky winner a gift certificate to the C9 store. Talk about motivation! 

I've had the Sweater Season Stamp set and dies in my never been used box just waiting for this occasion to sparkle. Such adorable bits and pieces to assemble and craft into the cutest sweaters and hats! 

Now, these have been around for quite awhile. They offer endless possibilities but to me the most fun is picking the color combo from their line of card stock which I LOVE. I used Cranberry, Avocado and Tidepool. You can bet I'll be creating in some other hues as well and gluing the little bits together while I watch football. 

Hope your weekend is going well. 

See you again soon! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Entering: 

Word Art Wednesday

NBUS - stamps and dies
Simon Says Stamp - Getting Ready for Christmas - Christmas shopping?

Sunshine and Love

Hi! It's a Friday evening heralding a long weekend for those in the US. The sun's begun to set I think I have time to write this quick post while our supper soup simmers. I love having the cooler weather. 

I'm sharing another card today using SSS supplies from the Birthday Blitz kit. Have a look! 

This time I've used the stamp set and dies that come with the kit, as well as the Birthday Sentiments Embossing Folder. I love the deep impression this folder makes and I had the idea to cut it twice in two colors for my background after pondering what to use for Judy's sketch at Freshly Made. 

I added three tiny sequins to the heart. They add just the right sparkle! You know I need some bling!

I think this makes a birthday card that could be for anyone! 

That's all for now~

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I will be adding this to these challenges:
NBUS. The stamp dies and EF are all never been used Schtuff. 

Sending a Little Love

 Hi everyone,  I hope your days are going well. What's bringing you delight these days? I've been under the weather for the last few days, but I was able to make a card just for fun. 

A background piece that I had made was still on my desk, it was an adventure in ink blending and a background stamp that I shared with you recently, HERE. I chose some colors of card stock and played a bit with a new die. 

All in all, it was a fun process although I feel this turned out a bit quirky and that's OK! Getting a good photo is still taking trial and error in my new setup and these shades weren't cooperating. The die is Spring Bloom Inlay by Kristina Werner for C9th. The colored strip is inked with Dox inks. I blended a bit of ink on the leaves for a second hue and assembled the bloom on cream card stock. A bit of shimmer was added but it's a bit hard to see. 

I look forward to another go with the inlay die. The sentiment is a favorite from Penny Black's Love Big transparent stamps. 

That's it for me today! See you next time! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Entering this to NBUS where Darnell invites us to showcase our new Schtuff!  The bloom die is new.
 A Cut Above and 
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Bright and Colorful

Takes the Cake Birthday

 Sweetness overload from an oldie but goodie! Must be the sweet goodies I have on my mind posting cupcakes and now a cake, Ha! Better to make them with ink instead of eating them, right? 

This card features the Take the Cake dies, stamps and stencils from The Greetery. I'm not sure if it's still available but I'm glad I've delved in to ink it up with lots of color on the florals and texture for the icing. Icing is always my favorite part of cake! 

I hope you're doing well today. Come back again soon! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Making it's way to The Flower Challenge. Hoping that lavender is an OK purple. 

Thankful for Autumn

I recently made one more card before putting my autumn dies away and it seems just right to share now that cooler weather has been here making me want to get outside and kick up some leaves!  

 These papers were gathered from my stash. I did some ink shading on the edges of the yellow floral, then tore and layered the papers for a country look that mixed well with the plaid. Sponged inks provided the colors on the leaves as well. 

I'm happy to find it fits in with a couple challenges also. I love when that happenes. Thanks for coming by to take a look!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Playing along with:
Color Hues - where the challenge colors are rust and yellow
Just Us Girls - asks for Leaves on their Die Cut Week
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - I used PB Dies Fall Foliage and the leafy branch is Dignified; sentiment stamp from Sunflower Harvest Clear set

Sweets with Birthday Blitz

 It's a new month and I pulled out a brand new box of goodies to play with!  The Birthday Blitz kit (SSS) appealed so much to me with bright colorful papers which contain printed tags and cute sayings. I mixed it up with other products so today's card uses only the papers from the kit. Did I say colorful? 

The star patterned paper makes a busy background and the paper I used for the cupcake liner repeats the star element. I cut the sentiment also out from one of the papers. The die cut additions are from Spellbinders Etched Birthday Wreath Add-Ons which I'm also sharing for the first time here. I colored the icing with markers and added shimmer to make it sparkle. And of course there are sequins! 

Bet you can guess that I'm sharing with these challenges today:
NBUS - never been used supplies
The Paper Players have a sketch. 

Double D asks for- "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."  It does not have to be Halloween related. 

Simon Says Stamp Card Kit Gallery The kit is sold out but many elements are available separately.  

I look forward to seeing you soon! For those who've been following me, we've finally arranged a space for me to stamp in our new home so I no longer have to haul things out to the living area. LOVE using the new space! Will work next on streamlining the photo process. 

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I love that you come to visit me, and I wish you a great day. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Santa's Coming

 A happy Saturday hello from me.  The song says Santa is coming to town but as I look around stores in my community, I'd say he's already here! 

I'm not too much into Santa but this jolly guy is newly acquired and he's so cute!

I couldn't wait to feature him in the offering from Freshly Made Sketches. He's paired with a dancing penguin and the vertical word die.  This is also brand new and I know I will often use this in the holiday season. I used Copics to color. For sparkle, there's some wink of stell on his hat, and a few snowflakes.

I love this card layout I hope to use it again as it's so versatile! 

I hope your weekend is going well. It's rainy here, so I may have more crafty time!  Signing off with BIG hugs to you --

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:  *new
Waffle Flower Overlapping Vertical Merry Word Die*, Gina K  Christmas Cheer stamps and dies*; Word stamp "Christmas is from PB stamps Christmas with Mimi

Challenges: 

Freshly Made Sketches 
NBUS
Simon Says Stamp  ATG, Gina K 
Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Santa
Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge 

Watercolor Flowers

Hello and mid-week greetings to you! 

I love to watercolor, so I jumped at the chance to get in a bit of a project with mine today. 

The Paper Players are asking for Clean and Simple cards using watercolor. I prefer simpler cards for a sympathy greeting, so I left lots of white space. Now I'm wondering if it's TOO simple? I added those three tiny gems just in case. 

After I stamped and white heat embossed the floral spray I used Mungyo 48 set paints in soft shades to watercolor. The sentiment is  from Taylored Expressions. It came out long ago, but I really like the style of the fonts. The flowers are from the Altenew Craft Your Life Kit called Watercolor Flowers. I just used the outline stamps today. I'm aiming for doing just a bit of stamping in random moments when I'm free or waiting for something. It's not quite working out that way yet - but I'm sticking with it! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 

The Paper Players

Tic Tac Toe across diagonally - Rectangle, Three or More Colors, Embossing

I Spy with my Little Eye #30 - something clean and simple

The Flower Challenge - Use the Sketch I did flip the sketch. 

Cascading Leaves

 Do you ever see a sketch or card challenge and then mull it over for a day or night or two? The simple but fun sketch from Freshly Made inspired today's card. The designers have wonderful samples and a clever variety of images. I went with leaves. 

Using an old set that's no longer available (Ellen Hutson - Pumpkin Season) my leaves were stamped on  a colorful array of Concord & 9th card stock. Clean and simple, done! 

Freshly Made Sketches

Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Beautiful in Blue

 Here's a mid-week post from me, I can't believe how the days have sped by! 

You know, I don't use blues often, or smoky shades either. But the cards from the talented ladies at Color Hues took my breath away. So I decided to play! 

Using Distress Oxide inks in Faded Jeans and Bundled Sage I did some stenciling with the Magnificent Magnolias stamps and stencils from Pinkfresh Studios in my stash. 

I kept the inking light so there was lots of white to brighten things up.

The card base is a paler blue card stock that I inked to match the flowers. It almost looks soft like suede, I love that bit of texture.  A generous sprinkling of flat opalescent sequins for more shine, and it's done! 

I'm happy to add this to the challenge at the Color Hues Challenge. I hope you'll consider playing along! Have a beautiful day. Thanks for your visit. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Color Me Happy

 Hello friends and welcome to my blog. Do you have trouble coming up with names for your posts? 

For this post I began with "Carried Away by Color" and that wasn't quite right. I thought this card was a "happy accident " but chose Color Me Happy instead. All three are true. This happy accident began with an inked background and a background stamp combined.

In the mood to do some blending I combined Oxide inks in Worn Lipstick, Carved Pumpkin and Scattered Straw. Gina K has come out with a grip mat and on the other side are two background stamps, you can see it HERE. It's new to me and I love that it has multiple uses. I stamped with purple ink over top of the blended ink panel to add geometric images.

I looked at that panel for days! Not wanting to cover it up. Finally I decided the leaf images and HELLO sentiment seemed a good mix including gold sequins to dress it up. A bit quirky maybe, but I like it, even the purple!

I can't remember when I've had so much fun playing. Hope you have a great day and enjoy wherever this crafting journey takes you!

Adding this to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Penny Black Saturday Challenge, NBUS and again to The Four Seasons Challenge. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:
Penny Black dies - Dignified, Fall Foliage
Hello from Honeybee Stamps

A Taste of Fall

 I'm breathing some happy sighs this morning as it has been a while since I've been here on my blog and I'm pleased to have something to share! I did some coloring just for fun on these pretty sunflowers! 

Using my Copics this time, I kept it simple and light for an airy feel. I stamped the florals on the lower edge of the white card stock using Archival ink in Watering Can. 

After coloring the flowers I did some masking and ink blending for the background followed by adding a bit of white spatters. Tiny gems from Gina K (Micro Disco Ball Sequins) are very small but add just the sparkly look I love!

The Flower Challenge Sketch gave the creative kick I needed. Thank you so much for being here to visit with me today. Hope it's a good one!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Penny Black supplies: 
Pure Sunshine Cling Stamp, Enchantingly Clear Stamps (sentiment) ; Background Basics Stencils

Inks: Tumbled Glass, Peacock Geathers

Adding to: Penny Black Saturday Challenge, The Flower Challenge, Stencil Fun Challenge , FourSeasons

A Sketch for the Paper Players

Hello friends! I'm back with a quick post today. I wanted to watercolor so I pulled out the images from this older set called "Just Breathe" from WPlus9. I love the image of the bird perched on the pretty peony that you see as my focal point. For this card, I created a background panel by randomly stamping only the flowers and leaves onto watercolor paper.

I stamped with Memento Toffee Crunch ink, and used Distress ink re-inkers to watercolor. I left this as a work in progress for a day or two. Then, inspired to join The Paper Players Sketch Challenge, I cut my panel in half and layered the focal image on the All-in-One Hexagon Die (Penny Black.)   

 Here's the sketch I followed. I really like the way cutting the panel worked out.

That's it for me today! Hope your day is going well. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

Simple Joy

Hello, happy National Dog Day!  I didn't have a clue about that when I made this card featuring a super cute canine and a sentiment that I really like! Over the weekend I brought out a mixed bag of supplies and just played for fun. 

Rummaging through my background stamps I found one from Tim Holtz that is all sentiments, many are out of the ordinary. It's called Tiny Texts and I thought this one was perfect for this image. Ignoring the cake or card that looks birthday-ish, I love that this pooch has prepared a perfect cup of tea and has flowers and fixings to enjoy his day. 

Sipping my cup of tea is an ordinary joy that I savor every morning with thanks for a new day. I love the smile on this little guy. Wish I was so cute! (early in the morning...) The pup image is fussy cut from the Good Times set (Penny Black).

Paper scraps, enamel drops, and simple coloring with Zig markers. 

Makes me happy today. What is your ordinary joy? Thank you for stopping by! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 
Little Red Wagon - Circle of Life
Penny Black Saturday Challenge -  ATG, Embossing (the black circle is dry embossed but the photo doesn't show it. )
Neglected Stuff Challenge - I haven't used my ZIGs to color for a long time!
Krafty Chicks - Clean and Simple