It's Time for Tic-Tac-Toe!

It's time for a Tic Tac Toe Challenge, I'm glad to be here to share with you today.

I'm posting a slimline card filled with kites. I love flying kites at the beach!  

Our board offers some fun options for your creativity. I chose the left vertical column: Slimline, Pastel colors and Encouraging Sentiment.

The kites really needed the slimline size to soar! The panel was embossed and color added with stencils. Inking with pastels gives a dreamy look. I left the blue sky and sunshine for you to imagine and added sequins instead to this already busy scene. 

I can't wait to see what ideas our board will prompt for you! Please join our gallery at Tic Tac Toe Challenge as we'd love to see how you are inspired!

Just a personal note - I'm following up some busy days with some recovery time from bronchitis. If I don't even feel like stamping, then I must be pretty sick, lol! This will pass. Soon, I hope! 

 Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!

Supplies: Spellbinders Flying Kites Stencils and embossing folder

Simon Says Stamp - Happy Day stamps and dies

Sparkle for Spring

It's been a busy time! Lots of household improvements going on including having the walls and kitchen cupboards painted. It's lovely to have it finished. Also, I'm teaching a local Papercrafting class, so there was prep work to plan and assemble the projects. 

It just happens, a found a new card recently made and photographed. Ready to share! 

The flowers were embossed in gold, colored using inks and stencils, and die cut. I love having the bouquet arranged for me so it is cut in one pass. Layering it on a scalloped stitched panel and a stitched frame made it easy to assemble. The stamps are Flowers for the Soul from Pinkfresh Studio.The sentiment is a favorite.

The gold thread, gold embossing and gold metallic gems add some sparkle! I'm happy to play at The Paper Players. I love a good TTT challenge and used the middle row across; sparkle, flowers, embossing and the right row vertically; sentiment, embossing, layers. 

  Wishing you a wonderful day and much joy. Thanks for coming by!

         Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!   

Happy Easter Wish

 Hello there! I'm sorry to say that I don't often make Easter cards, even though it's an important holiday and there are so many lovely options to choose from right here in my stash. Today changed that.

I'm delighted to share it with you! 

The well-loved oldies came out first, beginning with the Cathedral Die and stencils from The Greetery. Some light sponging of pastel inks behind the windows and at the card base created a soft base for the bouquet. 

The flowers and leaves are from the very new-to-me Garden Party Die from Pinkfresh Studio, cut from white card stock and sponged with color. Also brand new, these Ethereal Butterflies from Memory Box seemed to round out the scene, with their rich texture and an added pearl. The sentiment is from Spring Day... by Penny Black. I got an extra nudge from the challenge at Double D,  Easter/Church/Cross. 

I'm so thankful to these ladies for their beautiful inspiration and hard work. 

I will add this to the lineup at NBUS  and Die Cut Divas  Celebrate Spring as well. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to come by today and say hello. See you again soon!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Grateful for You

 Hi friends, I'm glad to see you! I'm wondering what happened to make this week rush by so quickly!

I thought it would be fun to enter a card into the monthly challenge at Pinkfresh Studio. The theme is Sew Much Fun based on the many products in a recent release featuring sewing items. 

As I looked through my supplies I found some pretty flowers ready to go! Here's my card. 

The elegant circles die has lovely stitching elements, and the pale pink card stock was given a quilted stitched pattern with the Sparkling Diamonds coverplate die. 

I used the Flowers for the Soul stamps and dies.The florals were stamped and embossed with gold and colored with markers. Gold foil leaves are the only embellishment. 

I had trouble with this card. You know? It just didn't come together easily and I almost wanted to start over, then had not the best lighting for the photo. Some days that happens! 

I'm entering this to the theme challenge of Clean and Simple Florals going on at The Paper Players.

I'm remembering not to be so hard on myself. (grin) I leave you with a farewell wave, wishing you a good time creating! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

He will sing!

 How are you on this Monday? It's pouring rain here with lots of wind. I'm staying in!

I wanted to encourage a dear friend going though a tough time and was so glad to find my favorite Scripture verse available in digi form at Word Art Wednesday. 

One of my newer stamps is Blossoms and Butterflies from Pinkfresh Studio, it's fast becoming my favorite! I ordered just the stamp but next order included the dies and stencil. This bouquet of flowers is so versatile and I know that it could be one of those images that I grab often. 

Stenciling is a technique that has grown on me over this year. You may know that I love to watercolor, and slowly add layers of shading and color.  But you can't beat a good stencil or two for coloring an image quickly. 

Speaking of quickly, I need to run this card out to the mailbox. I'm wishing you a wonderful day! Adding this to the Word Art Wednesday Challenge.  Besides inspiring Scripture and beautiful artwork, they have some great prizes if you want to check it out!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

In my Garden

 Hello friends! I've been working in my craft room with a garden theme of butterflies and blooms today. Playing with a sketch and a nice collection of new supplies that I have lined up from recent orders. And oh boy, did I have fun! More awaits.

Michele's sketch from Freshly Made was my starting point.  My interpretation is not literal although I took quite a while trying to get a  balance of the die cuts and embellishments. 

It's a great sketch! For the leaves and flower, just a bit of inking added interest. I think the butterflies fit well with this sentiment. Pearls were the only embellishment. 

Hope your Saturday is going well! I appreciate your visit so much. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges:
NBUS  **see below for  4 new items**
Freshly Made

 and a new to me challenge from The Paper Shelter where I used Flowers, Free and Pearls

Supplies:
Simon Says Stamp - *Rose Branch Wafer Die, *Jaunty Sunflower Die
Altenew - inks, *Itty Bitty Branches Die Set
Pinkfresh Studio - Butterflies in Bloom Stamps and Dies, *Scalloped Grid Coverplate Die
Penny Black - Butterflies 

Special Day

Hi there, how's it going? There's a new challenge today at Tic Tac Toe Challenge! That makes today a special day and as you will see, it's a unique and fun set of prompts. 

I enjoyed pulling out some Altenew and other items, mixing a bit of old and new to create my card. 

Of the wonderful options, I chose the bottom row across: Frames, Dimension, and Embellishment. I loved using the circle frame for my focal point. To me, dimension = texture! I began with an embossed base layer, and smooshed white ink on the raised design to add depth of color. 

The multiple paper layers and layered stamping of the florals gave dimension too. Then I did pop things up with foam tape, and embellished with lovely sapphire gems. The ones in the blue flower centers are hard to see but IRL they add a pretty shine!

 I hope you will find some encouragement to play along with our challenge! I can't wait to see what you make. 

Thanks for checking in with me for a bit, it's been great to have you visit. Until next time...

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

Supplies: 

Stamps:  Altenew - Airbrushed Floral and dies
Frame die: Pinkfresh Studio - Elegant Circles 

My current favorite embossing folder is from Altenew - Piped Floral Lace

Big Hugs

 I had a happy bit of crafting time and was inspired by two challenges for today's card. 

I love it when a challenge sends me looking through my supplies to pull out something and use it/combine it in a way that's unique and refreshing!

The Paper Players challenge asks for the colors of the rainbow. I found rainbow striped paper for the border, and rainbow colored circles for a small frame. With masking, I created soft clouds. 
Simon Says Stamps - Make It Cute  (oops, missed this one!)

What's funny about me and rainbow cards? I don't usually make them. I do love the rainbow colors, and had to smile as I typed just now when I looked at the blog header I designed with a border of rainbow colors. 

I will list the supplies below, send you a big hug of thanks, and be on my way. Have a great day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:
DSP from Waffle Flower and Penny Black 

Stamps and Dies - SSS Tweet Friend 
Copic Markers, Scalloped Rectangle Frame dies 

A Bit of Fluff

 
A new stamp came out to play today and it's a cute bunny saying hello to spring! 

I made the background last month just playing around with a few stencils for a session. Using the Puffy Squares (Waffle Flower) I did two background panels in tone on tone colors of blue and yellow. Adding a dainty border and a tag today fits this right in with the challenge at Freshly Made. 

The new-to-me Spring Bunny Stamp Set (Concord & 9th) provided the focal point. I added a bit of bling for his bit of fluff tail. Sharing this also at the NBUS gallery. 

A clean and simple card. It's much brighter IRL. 

That's all for today! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Happiness for You

Happy Friday to you! A while back when I got my Zigs out I did some coloring for future cards. This is one of them. I began with stamping the images from Butterflies and Blooms (a new-to-me stamp from PinkFreshStudio) onto white card stock. 

After cutting it out, I layered it onto aqua card stock, placing a vellum gingham panel (SU) behind it. Here's what I love - my favorite  EF from Altenew (Piped Floral Lace). I just keep choosing this one! It's the debossed side that forms the card base layer. 

Tiny silver dots are the only embellishment. Entering this in Tic Tac Toe challenge #287 middle row across: Layering, Encouragement, Enamel Dots/Sequins. 

 Team O has some wonderful samples and it is so easy to play along! I also love to play at Word Art Wednesday  NBUS and Simon Says Stamp. I hope your weekend is wonderful and I want to say a heartfelt thanks for your visit. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

One More for the Paper Players

 I could have titled this post: "Here's what I did today" or, "Wow! A card made in less than an hour!" Both of these are true. 

I am usually trying to feature my newer or just purchased supplies but it felt so good to pull out some older things and make a very unfussy bare bones card.

When I saw the sketch I immediately grabbed the patterned papers I've wanted to use (from Penny Black) and went from there. A tall die cut flower from Concord & 9 and a banner zig zag die for the fuchsia border were used. The sentiment from the Greetery could be for a birthday or anniversary. I like that it's open-ended.  I'm adding to my daughter's stash of cards to send including many to children.  

Sometimes it's best to KISS. Simple was really fun this time. 

Don't you love this sketch from The Paper Players?   I also was pretty excited to be chosen as the Headliner last week with THIS card. 

I love that you came to visit! I hope you find many things to celebrate today. I'm also playing at A Cut Above.  

 and SSS Wednesday Challenge ATG.  Have a great day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Birthday Balloons for The Paper Players

 Hi, happy mid-week hello! It's on to the next challenge for me and this is a fun one!

The Paper Players ask for a clean and simple birthday card using balloons. I had a birthday sentiment prepared that's been hanging around on the corners of my desk all ready to go for a few weeks.

Happily, I had a new-to-me set of Balloon dies in my container of new and unused stuff. I used a retired background stamp to create some pale pink dots randomly on white card stock. This card measures 3.5 x 6". Adding just a bit of shading to the die cuts and white gel pen highlights, I used foam dimensionals for extra depth. 

I have two grands that love pink, when I know which one I'm giving it to, I may add the number on a ballon to represent their new age. 

I will add this card to the challenges at: 
NBUS
The Paper Players

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 
DSP and enamel dots - Stampin' Up!
Birthday Die - Whimsy Stamps
Balloons - Simon Hurley Balloon dies

Beautiful Birthday

Another bit of crafty play happened over the weekend. I wanted to try making a card with small die cuts and here's what I came up with!

 I chose colors of card stock in three shades of pink. Also using some white I cut several flowers of each color. I needed some help lining them up into a grid pattern so I reached for the Birthday Blitz stamp set (SSS) that has the curving parallel lines. I stamped them in pale gray onto the card front and the square which has foam for added dimension. The bit of movement adds interest to the CAS design. Tiny clear sequins were added to each flower center. 

This card design is not my  usual go-to but I think I should try new styles more often. It's what makes this craft so satisfying! The sentiment is also from the SSS set, I really like that one.

I hope you're having a wonderful week. 

I was inspired to play with the sketch at Just Add Ink 

and Seize the Birthday - CAS with Dies
I'll be back again soon! In the meantime ...

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Freshly Made in Lavender

I stamp every day, even if it's just a little something. I pulled out a few things yesterday and began thinking I would just assemble a bit of a kit to have handy for the future. Turns out I kept going, and was inspired by the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to turn it into a card. 

Have a look! 

The Pinkfresh Studio Beautiful Soul stamps and dies have been in my stash and were calling to be used since I'm so ready for spring. I paired the stencils with Altenew Rose Petal inks and  loved the combination. 

Then I added a smooshy bit of ink blending at the bottom of the card to keep in  step with the sketch. And of course, a few sequins!

It was hard to photograph. Sometimes the simplest cards are the hardest. The colors IRL are lovely. The stamping was done with Watering Can (Archival Ink) which is softer than black and my preferred choice when using pastel colors. 

That's all for me today! I am off for a walk in the sunshine. Hope your weekend is extra wonderful!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Adding this to play along:
Make My Monday asks us to use two dies.