Stars and Sunshine

 I'm back with another challenge card today, happy Friday, friends! 

You know how I love card challenges, they help by keeping me growing as a stamper and having fun as someone who has a bit of time on her hands (usually!). That translates to keeping me out of trouble. Yesterday's card (HERE) was for a sketch challenge and today I'm back with TAKE 2 on the same sketch from Cecile from Freshly Made Sketches.  I've been thinking on this sketch overnight. 

You'd be amazed both of my takes are from the same challenge idea, but it just shows how easy it is to focus on one thing or another thing altogether when creating from a sketch. It all depends how the inspiration strikes you! 

I used a square card this time (4.5 x 4.5"), with a smaller stitched die cut square featuring a scene. For the focal image I used a seaside image and the tall lighthouse mimics the diamond shape in the sketch. 

I stamped the images using a masking technique onto Canson watercolor paper with Watering Can Archival ink, and painted in the details with Distress Re-inkers. 

The sky shows the morning and night sky both to illustrate the sentiment, as its found on the stamp packaging. I dabbed a few stars with a white gel pen. 

I am so happy to be using the Grounded & Glowing set from Penny Black for the first time. I keep looking for stamps that vary from my normal flowers and feminine vibes, and this one is working for me! I loved having a reason to pull out the watercolors.

Speaking of inspiration, the DT samples for this sketch are fabulous!

Thanks so much for your visit, I will see you soon! 

Also playing with my new stamps at NBUS Challenge #89.  and Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Looking Forward to Fall

 Hi, I sure am looking forward to fall, especially since our temps are still high 90's and it's so very HOT! We were at the beach last week and we had a daily heat advisory so we couldn't be outside as much as we would have liked. Had a good time anyway! 

Back at home in my craft room, I put together today's clean and simple card using a fun mix of oldies for fall. 

I was inspired by The Paper Players challenge and Freshly Made Sketch Challenge. 

I"m also looking forward to some crafting with new goodies and more time to play next week. Hope you will stop back. I appreciate your visit, I'm wishing you a wonderful weekend! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Blues for a Beautiful Day

 It's not my team up for the new challenge at Tic Tac Toe but I just couldn't resist playing along with the fabulous board created by Jeanie for Challenge #299. The monochromatic option got the creative juices flowing for me! 

It was a great opportunity to feature the Foliage Flair stamps and stencils by Pinkfresh Studios. I stamped the image in black ink, and used Distress Oxide Inks with the stencil to apply shades of blue, cobalt and teal to the design. The flowing lines of the foliage and blooms pair beautifully with the simple color combo.   

I went with the middle vertical row of Monochromatic, Gems and Coordinated Envelope. I love that I had the lovely blue gems from Altenew (Gem Sparkles - Deep Sea Sapphire.) They really sparkle!  

Happily it's my first time using the stamps and stencils so you know I'm headed to Darnell's fabulous NBUS challenge to share. 

I'm glad we had this chance to meet up today. I'm wishing you a beautiful day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 

Foliage Flair bundle

DOX inks: Blueprint Sketch, Broken China, Salty Ocean
Sentiment is from Altenew Craft Your Life Watercolor Flowers kit  

Hearts A Plenty

 How's everything going for you, dear crafty friend? 

I spent some time in my craft space today. I was digging through my supplies one box and container at a time, looking for a set of dies that I KNOW I bought recently. The dies weren't in the envelope with the stamps and stencils where I normally keep them. Wondering where else I could have put it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Well, I didn't find it. Has this ever happened to you? I wasn't going to create with it, I was just stressed that I couldn't get my hands on it. I feel sure I will stumble upon it some day when I least expect it!

This cute pair did turn up in my ready-made bin and since they were already colored, I set about to make a card in an attempt to re-focus.

I used reinkers to lightly watercolor the critters, cut them out and added a paper from my stash. Adding a die cut heart and rounded corners to the card base gives a playful vibe. 

 Verena designed the Freshly Made Sketch and it's lovely, as are the DT samples. I'm happy to play along! Also linking to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

It's so good of you to visit, hope you're having a great weekend. I appreciate you! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 
Penny Black - Hearts A plenty stamp
Altenew - Soft Blossoms (sentiment)

Celebrations and Wins!

 Hi to you friends, I can't believe that August is here. It seems that I should be posting cards today as the week is half over already, but how about if I post a quick update instead? 

The last week was really full, with a family celebration party at our house for 15 on Saturday and our son and family visiting for a few days afterward. Very good time! Very tired Mimi and Papa! 

Now for the wins part. Drum roll please!! I was a very lucky random winner at the SSS weekly challenge with the circles card from the last post - and it also was chosen as Queen of Clean at the Freshly Made Challenge!  I just love challenges - they keep me stamping and mentally stoked. PLUS a win???!!!

Lastly, dear Darnell hosted an amazing celebration of the NBUS anniversary, and I was a random pick prize winner! Shopping at Waffle Flower is in store for me. 

I am one tired but happy stamper today! Back with cards soon, but maybe not tomorrow. HA! 

Thanks for letting me share! Hugs. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Pop Art for Freshly Made Sketches

 Just when I think I'm finished for the week with card-making and posting, another challenge kicks me into gear and I make just one more! 

I've been waiting patiently for the chance to use my geometric shapes and supplies and today I was inspired to pull them out.

From the SSS April card kit, I used the Pop Art stamps and dies. The printed sentiments and a batch of colorful textured card stock squares were  included. These items made creating with Kim's sketch at Freshly Made so easy. 

When I saw this kit, I thought it would make great cards for our grandson. Nice to have this ready to go. 

Speaking of ready to go - we are heading out to the pool for a little exercise this evening. The weather here was finally a bit cooler today. 

Hope you have a great weekend! It was so good of you to visit.

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm adding this to
 Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Supplies: 
The small script sentiment is from Waffle Flower - Oversized Hello

Better at the Beach

 Waving hello friends! I wish I was packing my bag for a day at the beach, don't you? 

Here's my card to help us dream a little of the beach life. 

I created my beach tote using cut strips of card stock to make stripes, then added the sentiment, sunglasses, a shell and a towel to complete the focal point. Using Crystal effects makes the glass frames shiny IRL and there's a shimmer on the pink hearts. 

It's a center fold pop up card. For the pale blue base, I used an EF for a texture resembling water drops, smooshing a light layer of white ink over it. The scene is complete with patterned paper curving along the bottom, and a few clear gems. 

It's a new challenge for Team X at Tic Tac Toe. Here's our board of options for these next two weeks. 

I used the middle row across - Beach, Free and Fun Fold. My last name is Beach, of course I couldn't resist! 
We hope you will join us!

 Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 

Stamps: Waffle Flower Beach Tote Stamps and Dies
Spellbinders Splatter EF 

Bold Bouquet

 Well here I am again! 

Just had to pop in and give a quick share of the card I made today. I was inspired by the great cards over at Just Us Girls, where they have a stencil week - anything goes! And so many great cards that I wanted to play along. In looking for a stencil, I ended up with a bundle! 

The Bold Bouquet stamp and die bundle (Altenew) includes stencils and an embossing folder. This has been in my stash for years and barely used. That's sad but we got re-acquainted. 

I embossed the bouquet, stenciled it, then die cut it. Now totally in stencil mode I added more color with the SSS stencil Petal Lattice in the bottom right corner. A few tiny dots with pens gave detail to the flower centers in black and gold, and a few sequins in pink made me happy. 

Off to post this now, as the challenge closes soon. I will see you tomorrow! Thanks so much for your visit. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Love Blooms

Hello, hi, and welcome! Just when I tell myself I have enough  stamps   (never enough of those!) paper or ink I find this fabulous paper pack that is so different and I LOVE it! It's the main feature on today's card. 

I started by filing through the La La Land Crafts 6x6 pack called Washi, looking for the one that would be easy to design with. These two sided papers are amazing, with bold patterns and striking designs. Swoon worthy!

Also on my desk were the leftover die cuts from another day. I thought two of these would work well to house my focal point and still allow the pretty papers to be visible. I didn't want to cover it up! I stamped and watercolored the rose using distress inks for the bloom and metallic gold for the leaves, and placed them over a strip of gold mirror card stock. 

A bow of gold thread and a simple sentiment and it's done! For dimension, the die cuts are two or three layers stacked together. You will be seeing this paper again as I really enjoyed the challenge of playing with it. 

Wishing you a great day, and happy crafting! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 

Color Hues - Black and Red 
Love those Pretty Papers 

Supplies:
Penny Black  - Curvature Die, Love Blooms stamps and dies
Sentiment is from Altenew from this pretty set they sent me for free personalized with my name!  Charming Bouquet stamps. Boy, was I surprised!!

Let's Make Two

Gratefully, we had some much needed rain yesterday and I had time to finish two cards that have been worked on bit by bit this week. No online challenges this time. Just my own goal of using a new to me die. I unwrapped that package and gave it a whirl! 

I began by combining the Curvature Die from Penny Black, and the Garden Party dies from Pinkfresh Studio. When I had a moment, I  randomly cut a bunch of these, a few in color, but mostly from white card stock. 

 Adding Altenew inks to color, I sponged with aqua, teal, pink and green, including the teal in the corner of the card front. These dies are fun to layer, the possibilities are endless! The Curvature die in white makes a soft home base for my focal point. The sentiment from SSS Happy Day is stamped and die cut. 

The fun part came with the leftover bits of flowers on my desk. Here's take 2! 

Even the Blush pink panel was already cut to size sitting there on my desk. Better to use it up! With the very simple layout, I jazzed it up a bit with  a small dot EF and a few clear crystal sequins. The sentiment is from Penny Black called Special Thoughts. My completed cards are overflowing their space, so I'm using generic sentiments in hopes of donating them. 

Thanks for visiting me today! 

I guess I do want to add this to Darnell's NBUS Challenge, the Curvatures Die is my new schtuff. That item is still on my desk, so there is more to come!

For my Dear Friend

 Hi there, hope you are doing well! Are you enjoying happy summer days, even with the heat dome? 

We are having the kind of sunny day that makes you wish you were at the beach. A perfect afternoon to make a  beach-y kind of card.  

I love collecting shells at the beach. Almost as much as I love collecting new stamps! When I saw that the Anchor of Hope stamps from Honeybee were retiring, I placed an order. It's a set filled with beautiful images and sentiments that are different from what I already have in my nautical stash. 

I began with a pale blush card stock for the card front. I swiped a squiggly line of blue Lunar Paste (Clear Skies) and next to it I added Stickles, suggesting a wave on a shore. 

The image was stamped on watercolor card stock, and colored with Distress Ink re-inkers, and metallic watercolors. Sorry, the photo just does not captures the shimmer and shine!  I fussy cut the image, and kept it simple with a sentiment. 

I was truly inspired to make this a clean and simple card for the Paper Players. Other challenges include Just Us Girls, and NBUS because the stamp is brand new to me. SSS Wednesday Challenge calls for Fabulous Florals. 

I appreciate you spending time with me today! Hope it's been an encouragement to you. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Is it really simple?

 Hello and happy day to you! I began with a question - Is is really simple?

That's my reflection after making a simple clean card with a sketch for the Freshly Made Challenge. Love the sketch! Yes, filling that  small inner square with a focal point should have been simple. Not so for me as I tried many options and configurations. Too many! 

The Delicate Magnolia and Itty Bitty Branches dies from Altenew were featured as I brought this creative session to a close. I added stitched embossing to the base layer with the Allover Stitches folder from Penny Black. 

It's not my favorite card - but hey! It's just paper! There is certainly more for another day! See you soon. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Peonies for the Paper Players

 Hello and happy day to you! A beautiful new set of stamps designed by Dawn Woleslagle just had to join my collection of floral images recently. The Perfect Peonies stamps are from Honeybee Stamps. I love the timeless beauty of Dawn's illustrations, I am a huge fan. With some uncertainty about being able to do them justice, I began coloring with Copic markers. 

Most often I prefer using a damp brush and re-inkers, but I really enjoyed using the markers this time. I added a sentiment from Altenew, white gel pen accents and mini sequins. The image was on white card stock sponged with light pink ink.

I like the simplicity of this card - just stamps, paper, and ink!

I was happy to see that this fits the color challenge at The Paper Players, and I will also add it to the NBUS Challenge, and SSS Wednesday Challenge, Fabulous Florals. 

I know I'll enjoy using this set again. Keeping this short, hope you don't mind!

I hope you enjoyed your visit, thanks for coming by! See you soon. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Let's Play

 Hi there, hope you're doing well! Welcome back again to my blog. 

Playing is my theme for today. A few challenges inspired me to pull out some stamps to create just for the fun of it, breaking out the not-yet-used "Let's Play" stamps from Penny Black for today's card. 

This cutie and her pup were colored using Copic markers and combined with the sentiment from Altenew and the sketch from Freshly Made .

I'm also adding this to: 
NBUS Never Been Used Schtuff
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Four-legged Friends
Penny Black Saturday Challenge   On the Go
Just Us Girls  Word Week - PLAY

Thanks so much for spending time here today. I appreciate you! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Other supplies:
Penny Black - Let's Play Transparent stamps, Rounded EF
Altenew - Cascading Flowers stamps
Spellbinders Blush Card Stock

Christmas in July

 Hi, hope you're doing well. Today I have a card to share with you that is one we made at a paper crafters class that I taught for 20 ladies today. I really enjoyed being with some wonderful card makers!

I thought this card was perfect to share for the Just Us Girls Challenge. It's their Die Week and they suggest that we use a die that is Old and Forgotten. 

I chose this elegant bow die a few years ago from The Greetery. It's fragile loops had just the flourished look I wanted for the focal point. The card is a simple fold design, with a pop up gift card holder inside. The DSP is from a box store, I wish the photo enabled you to better see the foiled gold and red berries that are part of the design. 

We're almost ready for the big holiday weekend here. Just popping in for a quick post this time! Now that preparing for the class is finished, next week I will beat the heat and play/create with some new goodies. See you soon! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Enjoy SUMMER

Are you having warm summer days this July? I hope you're enjoying them! Do you have a favorite summer fruit? I love a really good, locally grown peach. We have the best peach orchards nearby! 

This card is all about delicious fruits. Have a look! 

Our new challenge at Tic Tac Toe goes live today, and I couldn't wait to go with the Fruit option. I had in mind the Fruit and Summer Colors from top row across, but as I got caught up in making the card, I lost forgot about the patterned paper! Glad there are 9 options per board, as I then went with the diagonal: Layers, Die Cut, and Summer Colors.  

I used a medium green card front, with a diagonally striped embossed white panel layered on top. The fruit stamps are from Pinkfresh Studio Fruitalicious. I wanted bright shades so used my Zig markers to color them, and then fussy cut them. 

The sentiment is stamped and die cut from Simon Says Stamp Happy Days set. Keeping embellishments simple, I chose a few clear sequins, and used a coat of Glossy Accents on the cherries. Cherries are another of my fruity favorites!

Please enjoy pleasant days, wherever you are, and be sure to play along with the challenge! We love seeing your creations. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Adding this to the challenge:

Double D Potpourri

NBUS - I'm using this Fruitalicious stamp for the first time. Be sure to check out this month's special challenge with prizes!