Does chocolate and mint make you smile? Color Hues #47

 Is the heat wave over in your neck of the woods? Are you still staying cool in this last month of summer? Is ice cream something you scream for, dream about or just enjoy? 

Sorry, I'm finding a play on words a bit delicious as I write this post! Our challenge from lovely Nancy at Color Hues is chocolate and mint. Even though it makes me think of ice cream, I went in a different direction.

My card features a bear and birthday balloons! I colored with Copics, adding polka dots and variations of mint shades. Even brown dots (to resemble chocolate chips?) and a shimmer pen. I used a die cut (no longer labeled in my stash) to cut the word smile out of Chocolate Chip and white card stock, and inlaid white letters for the sentiment. The background keeps up the dots theme with a large dot embossing folder. 

I hope my card inspires you today! Please be sure to check out the fab work of the design team with these colors, you will be so amazed! And I hope you will play along. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supply List 

Stamps: Hello Bluebird - Balloon Buddies and dies
Ink: Black 
Other: Large Dot embossing folder 

A Pop of Color for The Paper Players #604

 Welcome to a wonderful new challenge at The Paper Players #604! For our colors Anne Marie has chosen Black, White and a POP of any color! How fun is that!

I went with a graphic look using BOLD colors. 

These happy energetic kids were fussy cut, colored with Copics and assembled as if they are tumbling down my card front. A full slimline provided plenty of space for their frolics!

Now it's your turn to create! I know you will find lots of options for this one.

I so appreciate your visit today. Hearing from you sure makes me smile! 

Be yourself.

     Find delight in your craft.

             Make something beautiful! 

Supply List 

Stamps:  Waffle Flower - Yippee! stamp set

Other:  Creative Cuts Dies from Mama Elephant - Slimfilm City

Cards for Kids for The Paper Players #600

 Hello, and welcome! Isn't it amazing - SIX HUNDRED challenges at the Paper Players! This talented and delightful group of stampers has been creating cards to inspire us through 600 weeks! Not sure how many years it is exactly. It is a lot.

Today Ann has chosen our theme of Kards for Kids for our CAS challenge. 

I stamped this sweet girl from the Hello Bluebird stamp set onto watercolor card stock, colored her with Copics and then created a mask to place over her. 

 Stamping the sand in Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks gave a hint of a scene. I brushed watercolor in swaths for the sky and completed the card with a sentiment.

Loving all that white space! I sure hope you'll join us in this fun challenge. I can't wait to see what you make! Have a wonderful week! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies used: 
Stamps: Hello Bluebird - Seaside Girls stamps; Inkblot - Get Grounded, SSS - Uplifting Thoughts

A Special Birthday for The Paper Players

 Good morning, hope you are enjoying this April day! We have a new round of grands' birthdays coming, so I have a birthday card to share. It's time The Paper Players Challenge #586 and Anne Marie has a bright and springy color challenge for us! 

Coastal Cabana is about my most favorite color ever. As a side-note, a soft shade of it used to cover the walls in my stamp room! Pair it with pink and yellow and you've got a winner! I'm really liking what I see of Polished Pink but I had to substitute. I may have to get some soon!

I hope my sweet E will love this card. She is super excited about becoming three, so I was sure to add the number. 

Be sure to head to the blog post HERE to see the wonderful designs from our team. Join us and inspire us with your creations! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Stamps and dies: Hello Bluebird - Bouquet Buddies

Inspired By... Spring is Sweet

 Hello and happy Thursday! 

Can you believe it's already Challenge 169 at Inspired By? Our photo features delicious inspiration for you! I made up this yummy card for one of our sweet dear ones. I sure hope that she will like it! 

I was able to combine several dies and card stock to make this, too many to list! If you have any questions about the supplies feel free to post them in the comments and I'll answer you there.

The sentiment, banner and confetti are from the Cake Pops Dies and Sentiments from The Greetery. Doesn't this photo make you lick your lips? I once sang a song called, "Beautiful Candy - too pretty to eat!"

Now you can share how Spring is Sweet inspires you! We sure love having many of you play along. 

I am so glad you stopped by today. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Inspired By.... What do you see?

Hey there! Hope you are doing well this day.

It's time for a new Inspired By Challenge! I am learning so much from these challenges because they really do spark my creativity. It's amazing how each of us sees the same inspiration photo but our designs can be very different and all very special! 

This week's theme is Bunny Roll.  I found a new stamp with this cute bunny in his pj's. Isn't he adorable! I colored with Copics in a very relaxed, cartoony style - no blending needed, so it's easy!

Of course with the quilt in the photo and the suggestion of bedtime, I had to include some patterned paper. The panel is made of DSP strips woven together. 

Here's a look at the photo and now it's your turn to answer. What do you see?       

 Check out the terrific designs from our talented designers, and give it a go won't you?

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Heaven Sent - Honeybee and dies

Paper: Neenah Solar White, DSP  - Reverse Confetti

INK: WPlus 9 - Coconut Husk

Accessories: twine

Hello CAT-Lovers!

 Hello to all the cat lovers, out there - this one's for YOU! I don't count myself as a cat lover but in photos and on paper I think they're adorable! Especially when they have CAT-ITude! That's the theme of this week's challenge at Inspired By! 

I have to tell you that I had almost NO cat images, and since I prefer dogs,  that was OK with me. Until this Kwan Crafts Cats Background stamp of adorable cats found it's way onto my Am**** order. 

And just look how much fun I had with it! 

Here is our inspiration photo. 

Of course I added boldly striped DSP and the colors in the photo to assemble the layout. 

I hope you love it as much as I do! Said with a bit of catty sass. Meoow! 

Please play along with us, won't you?

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Kwan Crafts Cats Background, Avery Elle - Furry Friends

Paper: Neenah Solar White, PTI Bitty Big black

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black

Accessories: Copic markers, SU punch

Take a Number!

 Hello! Ready for another fun challenge this week at Inspired By? Take a Number has lots of possibilities! Using a number on a card is perfect with grandchildren's birthdays coming soon! And who doesn't love balloons? 

My little sweet petunia will love this mini slimline card in Flirty Flamingo with the three scalloped windows. 

I hope that you'll join us to play along! There are lots of occasions for using numbers. Birthdays, anniversaries, special dates. 

Or let the stripes colors and polka dots inspire you. We look forward to your designs! Thanks so much for your visit to my blog. Your comments are so cheering. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  NEW TO ME! Balloon Numbers from Sugar Peas and coordinating dies. Entering to NBUS. 

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Flirty Flamingo - SU

INK: Gina K - Amalgam Ink

Accessories:  COPIC markers, Wink of Stella, and NBUS - Mini Slim Square Window Cutting Plate - Taylored Expressions

Playing with Paper

 More just for fun stamping and today I'm playing with Paper! Hi, hope you feel like doing some creating today!

I love challenging myself to do something that's not normally in my zone. Using the sweet Special Delivery Papers Pad and combining three patterns was my task. 

I LOVE the papers from Waffle Flower! Although they have some cute new ones I must-use-what-I have, HA!

I paired the super cute fox and cat from Be Her for the focal point actually stamping the images directly on the pale blue DSP.  The clouds fade into the background of their faces. I added some shading and details with markers. I think maybe my grands when they receive this will see a resemblance to their Mimi and Papa. You think? 

My sketch is inspired by the terrific team at The Paper Players. I appreciate you coming by today! I know so many of you are having snow and awful weather. Stay warm and well! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Stamps, Markers, Scissors and Glue

Hello again! I'm having a return to the basics for my stamping this week, and today it's stamps markers, scissors and glue and just a bit more. I feel a bit like a hamster on a wheel rattling around in my house but I enjoyed putting this card together and thinking happily of the sweet girl who's first birthday is coming up. 

I started with stamps from Birthday Bears (MFT) which an oldie that's been in my stash since 2015. Instead of using the dies, I did some masking enabling me to position the gift, the hat, and balloons, then cut it out. Colored with Copics. 

One thing about Copics - I used to try and make coloring with them SO COMPLICATED that I stressed out over using them. I'm over that now. Two layers and I'm done, simple. The black and white strip of paper was on my desk, so I glued that on and added some translucent stars. Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever used them. And I think they add just the right bling. 

I'm playing with The Paper Players, who have a theme week: Zoo, and Retro Rubber Challenge whose theme is squares. My square card measures 4.25 x 4.25. 

Enjoy your day! Thanks for your visit. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Out of This World

Hello, and good morning to you! 

It turns out this stamp set called Out of This World is also a blast from the past! So long past in fact, that it's no longer for sale.

No matter, I am into using things from my stash, the older the better! Some child will like the monster and ink-blended night sky. Right? 

I liked getting to add lots of WOS sparkle, clear Nuvo drops for the googlie eyes and spaceship windows, and all those iridescent stars. I just had to have them, you know? For THIS moment. 

This card is for the MFT Sketch Challenge. 

and I added it to the Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It! 

I am so glad that you stopped by today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

More Coloring - Zig Clean Color Markers

As you can tell from the title, there has still been more coloring going on as I explore the different mediums I already own. There has been furniture re-arranging, curtain washing, and I even pulled out the ironing board today and used it. Gasp! The world did not stand still. But you aren't here to here about my spring cleaning.

Again, taking a break to color is for my sanity. This time I pulled out the Zig Clean Color Real markers and used them for a child's card. Nothing too complicated, just fun to color and make into a basic layout. 

I was hugely inspired by THIS video from Kelly Latevola. Her results are amazing! I learned the hard way how much water was too much as I had some bleeding. I will keep practicing though and do what Kelly suggests: use as little water as possible. 

Thanks for your visit today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp -  Showers and Flowers, Stampendous - Friendly Phrases

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Ranger Distress Watercolor Paper, SU - Bermuda Bay,Basic Black

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, Versamark

Accessories: Zig Clean Color Real Markers, Stitched Circle Dies, white embossing powder

Merry and Bright

YAAY! Happy Friday! 

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm back again today with Take 2 of the sketch from CAS(E) this sketch. I took a more literal approach using bold stripes and a hexagon window. 

 The reindeer from the Merry and Bright stamp set (SSS) was colored with Copics. He is surrounded by two trees die cut of white card stock and also colored with Copics.  I arranged the scene on an inked background and topped it with the stamped sentiment banner. 

In case you need a refresher of the sketch, here you go! 

I'm pleased to be on a roll with stamping this week and happy to have quite a few Christmas cards finished. I hope you feel glad to have stopped by today. Enjoy your weekend!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: SSS - Merry and Bright

Paper: Neenah Solar White, red foil card stock

INK: Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, WPlus9 - Gala Red

Accessories:  Hexagon dies - Plus 9, Copic markers, Glossy accents

Take Out Thursday: Bits and Pieces

Hello, and welcome to my weekly post called

Take Out Thursday 

When I serve up something simple and easy.

Take out a stamp set for a spin, spice it up.

I am having so much fun preparing for these posts I'm featuring weekly. Are you enjoying the variety and frequent posts? 

Today's "takeout" includes bits, pieces, and BUNNIES. 

• the bunnies are leftovers from last week's card (HERE) that were hanging around on my craft table
• I took out an older set to mix it up with hats and accessories
• a brand new die and 
• scraps of DSP. 

The result of this mix it up challenge? 

I had so much FUN making this! 

Want to know more about the supplies?  The bunnies are from Somebunny Special by Simon Says Stamp and were colored with Copics.  Also by SSS is the Cuddly Critters Accessory set that provided the hat, sign, sentiment, bow tie, star and balloon.

The new die is the Papertrey Ink Shape Shifters Circle 1 die. I placed patterned paper in purple behind it, and added patterns in bright colored scraps. I  have so much paper and these are tiny bits, but hey, I used some UP!

My bunnies seemed to need grounding, so I wrapped twine around the card and tied a bow. 

That wraps it up for me today! Have fun with your crafting.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!