A New Challenge for Tic Tac Toe

Hi friends! It's that time of year when hearts are everywhere! I've enjoyed pulling some heart dies from my stash and adding a Valentine or two to my collection.

 I've often found encouragement and inspiration at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge, and I'd like to invite you to check us out today as we are back with a new challenge for you! I'm delighted to be joining the Team X designers. 

I began with patterned paper in pink and the heart die I've had a long time. Adding florals was fun too and they have a small gem in the centers. Here are the nine options for your card creations!

I began with the row across the top: Hearts, Die Cutting, Red/Pink but as you see I also included florals, a sentiment strip, and patterned paper in my design. 

What will you create? I hope you will find the lovely DT samples and want to join us at Tic Tac Toe Challenge. As always, you'll have two weeks to play along. 

Thanks so much for your visit to my blog. Blowing you a kiss for a Happy Valentine's Day! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

With Love Going Postal

 Hello! It's nice to be back again so soon with one more card to post. I did have some time to stamp over the weekend, and I made this card for the  DD challenge asking us to use RED. I didn't have trouble playing along as I love any shade of red. Here you go! 

Waffle Flower's collection of Postal Collage stamps, dies and stencils made this so easy to create. It's fun putting in the small images from stamps you own already as I did HERE, but nothing beats their pretty rose stencil. I used Distress Oxide inks. There are some gorgeous samples at the challenge blog  HERE and a wonderful Mood Board too.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to see you soon. 

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.

Bring a Letter

 The team at The Paper Players inspired us again with some wonderful samples this week! The theme is CAS cards having to do with mail. One thing that is especially nice at our new home is having our own mailbox on the curb. No more driving to a community mail building in our former rural neighborhood to get the mail.

This theme inspired another Valentine using "Cuteness" stamps from Penny Black. I colored the image with markers and fussy cut it out. Echo Park papers came in handy for making the die cut envelopes. The sentiment came from a brand new PB set called Love Big, thus I'm adding this to NBUS (which features our never-been-used YET -  stuff.   Simple and sweet. Have a great day! 

A Penny Black Valentine

Hello!  I didn't expect to stamp much after our move, but I also forgot that we are usually sick in January. So we are 'under the weather' and staying home inside due to the winter storm. Which for us, meant a bit of ice that is now melting. Either way, I'm happy to be house bound and enjoying sunshine today as I look out the windows.

Inspired by the sketch at Freshly Made, I water colored this sweet image using re-inkers. One of the best things about my new community is that there is a group that meets to make cards and collects them to be distributed at many venues and for every occasion. It makes me happy to be able to easily donate my creations and know they will make someone smile. 

I'm also sharing this at NBUS as the stamp is new, and Penny Black Saturday Challenge where they also focus on something new this month.

I hope you are doing well today. Thanks for your visit to my blog. 

Sending BIG hugs

 Well, hello and Happy New Year! It's been a minute since I posted. Our move was almost two months ago, it all went smoothly but it's always a big change. Then there were family overnights and the holidays!

I'm here to share what I created in my crafty afternoon. Giving the stamping and blogging a try again on this chilly day!

Pulling out my re-inkers I colored this guy from the Penny Black AHOY set for my first Valentine. 

I love how the sentiments work out so well. Inside it says, "Sending a big hug so it's there when you need it."

I'm inspired to join the challenges at Color Hues (hello friends!)  NBUS, Penny Black Saturday Challenge  and Freshly Made. Hope you have a great day!

Altenew Bold Bouquet for The Flower Challenge

 Happy greetings to you on this new day. It's time for me to get to crafting and posting a bit more often as The Flower Challenge returns to inspire you! After our January break, we are in full swing with love month, asking you to add a heart (or two or three!) to your card. And of course, don't forget to feature flowers! My card is a stencil design using the Bold Bouquet 3D embossing folder from Altenew.  

When I saw THIS card by Carol - it's the second card - I was smitten and my card is  unashamedly a CASE of her beautiful work. I began by sponging Distress inks onto watercolor card stock for an ombre background in pink and deep red. Next I dry embossed the panel using the 3D folder, and lightly sanded some of the high points to add distressing. 

Using the coordinating stencils, I sponged in darker shades of red to some of the flowers. With a damp brush, I added deeper shading using Memento Toffee Crunch ink and a bit of gold metallic paint. I embossed the sentiment (Bold Bouquet stamps and dies) in gold, and embellished with three small hearts. 

I appreciate you for sticking with me through this long post. I know you'll love the DT's beautiful inspiration. Please join us and play along! 

Thanks for visiting me today. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 
Just Us Girls Color Week Simon Says Have a Heart
Cardz 4 Gals red and pink  
The Paper Players Love

New month, New Challenge! Postal Collage

 I couldn't be happier about the hues of Red and Pink that our talented teamie Sheri picked for us at Color Hues #80! It's the perfect pairing for me to premier these new-to-me Postal Collage products from Waffle Flower Crafts! I really got creative with this one! 

I began by die cutting the entire postal image. With the first stencil, I sponged Spun Sugar as a light background in each square. I continued for each stamp to add details and shading with inks in Candied Apple, Worn Lipstick and Barn Red.

I mixed and matched the stencils I used on this card to create my own theme. This was incredibly fun! 

Last, I stamped the airmail theme images in black. I even got a stray bit of ink, but decided it was just the way some of my mail looks when it arrives, so I can "pretend" it got there on purpose.  Adding the sentiment on the black strip (from Hero Arts) seemed to tie this together as a focal point and a place for the eye to settle in this happy jumble of colors!

I'm sure you will want to join us and play along with this challenge, so give it a go. Can't wait to see what you create. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Waffle Flower Supplies: 

Postal Collage Stamp Set 

Postal Collage Die

Postage Collage Coloring Stencil

Postage Collage Everyday Stencil

Postage Collage Rose Stencil

Challenges: 

Just Us Girls Color Week 

Simon Says Have a Heart

Cardz 4 Gals reds and or pinks

Watercolored Love You with Penny Black

 As I sit down to write this post, I feel at a loss for words. My dear older brother passed away just after Easter and that brought so much sadness. My husband and I were set to fly cross country today for his funeral tomorrow and for a chance to join with family and my siblings at his memorial. Unfortunately, health issues of mine came up and I have had to stay home. 

So, I made a card. 

How's that for just enough telling-it-like-it-is?

It's been way too long since I've used patterned paper, and it took me forever to pick the papers for this card! But I did have fun. Watercoloring was therapeutic as always and I have the satisfaction of doing something today. 

I fell in love with these adorable elephants from Penny Black, aren't they cute? It just happens that  at The PBS Saturday Challenge they are asking for Patterned papers. 

The stamp set Together Forever is new to me so I'll share this at NBUS too. 

Other details: the papers are from Waffle Flower (polka dots) and Penny Black ( pink with roses.) The sentiments and dies are from Honey Bee stamps. I used watercolors from Altenew for coloring on Canson 140lb Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper. 

Thanks so much for visiting today. I'm so grateful for your kind words and I've met so many of you through this craft that have come to mean a great deal to me. I'm hoping to get crafty again today, so I will see you soon. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

This Little Piggy

 I love when a card challenge prompts me to have a look through my stash to find just the right stamp. That's what happened when I re-discovered this cutie on the oldie-but-goodie set, This Little Piggy (Sugar Pea Designs.)

I colored the piggy with Copics and layered 'her' with polka dotted paper and a layer of stenciled hearts. 

I've gotta think some one will love this Valentine!

I'm playing with: 

Inkspirational -  I was inspired by the colors in the Moodboard

and Just Us Girls Color Challenge Week

and SSS Wednesday Challenge,  Fun with Dies. I used Deckle Edge dies from Spellbinders to cut the card layers.

I really appreciate your visit! I hope you've been inspired and ...tickled pink!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Snow Much Love

Hi there! Here on this last day of January I am writing a quick post featuring a cute snowman that I want to use before spring hits.  I think a snowy Valentine might work well. 

The Most Wonderful set from Wplus 9 makes it so easy to add details to the images with the layering stamps. I just love how cute this snowman looks! 

I'm playing along with the TicTacToe Challenge, using the last line across: Patterned Paper (Waffle Flower), FREE and Enamel Dots. Also, at Inspiration Station, there is a photo prompt which inspired my snowy winter theme. 

The set is new to me also, and never been used til now, so it's off to NBUS. 

I appreciate your visit today, hope you're doing well. Happy crafting!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Sweet Valentine

 Hello crafty friends, I hope you are ready for a new week. Soon to be a new month. I squeezed in a bit of crafty-ness while watching football yesterday. When the score got close, I was only able to sit on the edge of my seat and hold on!

Coloring is easy to do while doing something else so I pulled out the stamps from Penny Black and went to town with my Copic markers. 

I kept this very simple as it's for the grands. Also for the sketch challenge at Freshly Made, which has been on my mind all week.  Squeaking it under the wire at the line up just in time! 

Hope you like it! It's quick and easy but sometimes that is just what is needed. I rounded the corners for a bit of playfulness. I feel sure this sketch will become a go-to!

Have a great day!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 
                   Make something beautiful!   

DSP is from Stampin Up!
Penny Black Stamps: My Sweet 

I'm adding this to Penny Black Saturday Challenge  and SSSWednesday and Inkspirational Challenge.

I was inspired by the yummy sweets!

Colorful Stitched Prints

Hello friends, happy Thursday! Crafting time has been scarce but today I was intrigued by colorful papers and and the Patchwork Die from The Greetery. 

 

 I thought these colors from the challenge at The Paper Players were so pretty that I just had to create with them! The Tea Boutique paper pack (SU) was the surest way for me to find the correct shades. I love the warm country look of the prints and the almost quilt-like effect with the die and stitched squares.

The heart die was cut and used at an angle on the card front. It sure was hard to get accurate colors in my photo. Here is what the colors are supposed to look like!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend.

Be yourself.

     Find delight in your craft.

             Make something beautiful! 

Mixing it Up for Color Hues #56

 Our Color Hues challenge #56 is here! Sheri has chosen Pink and Red for us and to me that's all about Valentines's! I had fun mixing up products to create my card. 

Combining the Bicycle Builder dies from Honey Bee with elements from the Spellbinders Parcel Post Heart Decorations I came up with this card for my dear one. 

I just love the LOVE letters and cut them using silver Glitter paper. They are only glued at the bottom so they hang jauntily over the basket and hearts.

Papers from my stash supplied the heart theme.The sentiment is embossed in white on black card stock. It's retired (SU). 

My neutrals and white black and silver. We can't wait to see what you will make for this challenge!

I appreciate your visit, hope it's a great day for you. 

Be yourself.

     Find delight in your craft.

             Make something beautiful! 

I'm adding this to the challenge at TicTacToe where I chose the center row: hearts, free, red. 

Love Flurries

Hello , I have a wintry scene for you today using old and new items, just for fun! I enjoy pulling out this PI girl in winter as I love her sweet expressions and the sentiments. I used a new-to-me stencil and sponged DOX inks to make the background. 

Two of the stencils are for small and larger snowflakes. I filled them with white paste for added interest and texture. 

My friend Leslie at Running with Scissors always colors images with mastery (if you visit her blog you'll realize words are inadequate to describe her talent!) and she's been using Tombow markers, so I got mine out to give them a try on the girl.  It's been a while but I liked the ease of using them. Then I fussy cut her out, adding the die cut trees and purple hearts. 

That's all from me today, I hope it's going well for you! We have had beautiful sunshine and warm-ish temps so the snow is only in my imagination, lol! 

I will be posting this at NBUS and Time Out Challenges. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supply List:

Stamps - mftstamps (retired) 
Ink
Other - Honey Bee stamps - Winter Wonder Scene Builder is a set of 6 stencils. 

Trees dies - Elizabeth Craft Dies

Just a Note for Color Hues #35

 Hello friends! Valentine's Day has come and gone, but we are still in the mood for pink at Color Hues! Kristie has chosen pink and navy to inspire our projects for challenge #35, and it's a great combo! 

I finished sending out Valentines but really wanted to use the supplies from The Greetery that were sitting out on my desk, so I went for it. A CAS note card that is mailer-friendly coming up!

I love these softly curving flowers that have a bit of detail from layered stamping. My inks from PTI include kraft for the envelope and a lighter shade of navy, more like blueberry, that coordinates well with the polka dotted paper strip.

The envelope is a popped up layer, as is the embossed sentiment tag. Supply details are provided below for those who want to know.

What will you make with our colors? Can't wait to see, hope you will join us! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:  The Greetery - Signed & Sealed  stamp set and dies; Signed with a Kiss stamp set and dies; 

Must Love Dogs - You Have my Heart

She loves dogs and so do I, so using this set was a good thing to do! I love pulling out stamps I've owned for a few years and using them again on a card that is just right for the person who will receive it. From MFT, this is unfortunately out of stock. 

Here is the last of the Valentines for this year, they are in the mail! Always a good feeling. 

You know I also love inking, and the inked background gives my scene a fresh look! You may remember this POST where I created the background, and this is an extra one I had at the ready. I'm loving my Cute Hearts stencil! 

 Copic coloring the images, I added them to a die cut panel including some clouds and grass. I hope she loves it! 

Hoping you do too. Being able to share an extra card I made that's not part of a DT prompt makes me happy! 

Have a great weekend! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!