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!  

Let's Connect for Freshly Made

 Hi everyone! There's nothing like a rainy day and a sketch to get me into the craft room to play. Add new stamps, and you know I'm set to go! Digging out the Copics for some coloring got me into a happy mood. These friends are in their happy place. 

Cute critters and LEGOS? What's not to love? The Let's Connect stamps and dies (SSS) feature both and some very punny sentiments. For my first card with these stamps, I found the great sketch at Freshly Made was a good fit. 

I liked the way the strip in the sketch was easy to use for the sentiment. I crossed out the "I" and used a pen to letter "Me"  on a heart as we are a Mimi and a Papa giving this card!. The only other embellishments are two die cut hearts with clear lacquer glaze added for shine. Papers are from Honeybee - Confetti Birthday.

Adding this to NBUS where Darnell has begun the new month with May's challenge Number 86!

There's been some sports playing (on TV) at our house today. The Kentucky Derby and now Hockey. Time for me to be a fan! Or a couch potato. 

Wishing you a great day. I look forward to another visit with you soon. 

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!  

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.

Sending Joy

 Hello again, how are things going? For the first time in years, all the presents are shopped for and wrapped. It's an amazing feeling! 

I keep thinking I'm finished making holiday cards. Instead I keep finding I just want to make one more. Goodies on my desk seem so easy to assemble into a card when I come to tidy up. Here's my latest.

Most of the supplies are from Concord & 9th. I love making scenes bright with the snow globe die cuts. Using colors Pink and Green so that I can join the fun at Color Hues this month, I was also inspired to play again at Freshly Made Sketches. 

I appreciate your visit today. Thanks so much for coming by! 

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 

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!  

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! 

I did a little bit of stamping.....

 Hi Friends! While waiting for the big game on Sunday and staying inside for a couple days of rain, I did a little bit of stamping. Nothing big to share, but here I am again. 

I made three cards that are a CASE of Jill's cards using Sketch #1 Just Frame It. I've been so loving her sketches, especially those shared in January and I wanted to try her system of doing three cards using her batch method. Die cut all three cards first, then stamp and color, lastly add sentiments then assemble. A few more Valentine's are on their way! 

Have a look. 

I learned something. 1. This sweet sketch involves an image in a frame. In this instance, using the frame I had on hand wasn't the best option as it covered up much of the embossed detail. 2. While making three cards at once worked well, I didn't love them  I think using the Penny Black frame (HERE) is much better proportioned and the best choice for this sketch.  3. Ordering is easy! New PB frame dies are on the way to me. I hope you won't mind seeing me use this sketch again, lol!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'm adding this to A Cut Above (using dies),  Double D challenge, asking for hearts and Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Cuteness advisory! Penny Black

 Hello crafty friends, it's been a hot minute since I've posted. The busy-ness of June is now behind me, and it was a wonderful wonderful time! Now that we're back and settled into more of a routine we've been hit with the heat advisory. I'm really happy to have had ample  time while I stay cool inside to play at stamping. 

That has included watching these terrific videos from Jill Foster for her new card class series, Permission to Play. This time her videos suggest sketches to make simple cards and they are filled with ideas and the sweetest cards! I highly recommend checking them out!

I'm showing you three cards from the day one sketch. 

For each card, I stamped images on watercolor paper, and colored with Distress re-inkers. 

The next card is my favorite, I just love the Cuteness stamps! 

Lastly, these mice got a bit carried away....

Jill says so often not to compare your cards with others, and that's its OK to make simple cards, or to reuse your fav sketches. I need that reminder.  I've had so much fun doing just that. I hope you enjoyed seeing them! Thanks for taking the time to come by! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supply lists: 
Make a Wish - Time to Celebrate 30 - 414; Critter Party 30 - 013

Love and hugs- Cuteness; Delightful Day

Happy - Critter Party 30 - 013; Smiles and Sprinkles

The Flower Challenge: Reminder

 Hi friends, it's me again with a reminder for The Flower Challenge! Please use our sketch and upload your card to the gallery before the end of the month. 

I took some liberty with the sketch, not on purpose but I didn't remember more than the vertical panel when I made this card. I thought you'd still like to see it! 

I was able to use some new-to-me supplies and that was an interesting challenge in itself!  I couldn't wait to pair the brand new Altenew Elegant Tulips stamps, die and stencils with metallic looking patterned papers from Consortium called Patina. I chose one pattern for the vase, then striped the darker lines from the stencil using teal ink. The other pattern is used on the sides of the focal panel, and on the envelope. 

Pleased to find a foil teal paper in my stash, I cut thin strips to finish out the sketch. I love those tulips, and I used red and green inks to color them.

As always, your visit is what makes blogging so much fun! Thanks for coming by today. I've loved having you! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Happy Birthday Blooms

 Hello crafters, how is your weekend going? Mine has been low key but I'm puttering away at some needed household chores. Sometimes the strangest things happen when I'm cleaning off my craft table. A card emerges from the bits of paper that I'm supposed to be putting away. 

I've had the sketch from Freshly Made in my mind all week, and it's been simmering on the back burner. Today the inspiration and scraps of paper came together. 

The stamps and dies are from the Greetery, Birthday Blooms. I've been stamping extra die cuts and storing them in the envie with the stamps, so these were ready to go! I combined them with papers from Echo Park for a clean and simple birthday card. The little twine bow seemed to be the only embellishment needed. 

The circles in the sketch are so versatile! You'd be amazed at the many ways the DT used them! Check it out HERE. 

Wishing you a wonderful day. Thanks for visiting! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Poinsettia Builder for The Paper Players

 Welcome to my blog on this first day of a new week. Time for a new challenge at The Paper Players, and a first Christmas card for my stash for this year. It's a bit to early for me to be starting Christmas cards but you know with lovely and talented Ann's Sketch for TPP# 614 I had to go with what works and add a bit of elegance. 

Pulling out my Poinsettia Builder set (WPlus9) I found quite a few elements already stamped and ready to go, plus a few greenery pieces from Bells & Boughs. These are stamps for layering and the results are beautiful! 

If you haven't seen these before, check them out!* Here's my card. 

I used sponge daubers to add ink to the images before stamping and die cutting. I can't quite remember the inks I used but I suspect they're Distress Oxides as they blend so well. 

I arranged the bouquet on a die cut circle and assembled the card using Paper Rose's 6 x 6 Cosy Rosy papers. It needed a bit of sparkle so I added snowy glitter (hard to see), gold thread and a few sequins. The sentiments are from the Poinsettia Bouquet stamps. 

Please have a look at the wonderful samples our DT has for you this week and play along! Thanks for your visit today, it means so much that you come and have a look around. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

*Want to see more of my cards with this set? Find them   HERE and HERE. 

Welcome Winter

 Hello, welcome to my blog today! I'm jumping ahead to a new season with a simply made card and a sketch for inspiration.

There's nothing like a sketch to kick start your creativity, and this week's Freshly Made Sketch did just that. 

Combined with the new paper pad I just got, it was a quick card and lots of fun to make! The three panels were just cut from the paper. I stamped the greeting and small bird from a long retired holiday set onto a white card stock square.

Thanks so much for popping in, I always enjoy your visit!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Paper is from Carta Bella - Welcome Winter

Remembering Ukraine

 Welcome to my blog! Sharing a card today that was made specifically to honor the heroic people of Ukraine using the colors of turquoise and yellow that represent the nation's flag.  

 I did a bit more coloring with my Zig markers for the lovely border which was die cut and added according to this great sketch! 

I just realized that I switched the orientation of the panels but I think my interpretation is still OK.  I'll be back with two more posts over the weekend, thanks so much for your visit! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:  Pinkfresh Studio - Just a Hello stamps and dies;  the Prayers die and sentiment are from Simon Says Stamp (retired)