Kindness in Bloom Birthday

 Hello, friends! I'm back with my last card for this week. Our weather has been super hot and in my craft room I'm keeping cool, busy, and contented. 

I decided to play along with Freshly Made Sketches, and pulled out the new-to-me Kindness in Bloom stamps and dies from Pinkfresh Studio. I love the wonky look of these flowers and appreciate the stripes on the leaves. Coloring with Zig markers, I followed the example on the stamps packaging and used bold strokes with white spaces on the flowers. 

I loved discovering (or being reminded?) that PFS dies cut out all the images at once, making this so easy! I used a border die to cut the accents for the line across the sketch. 

I appreciate you taking the time to come and visit with me. Hope you have a great weekend. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm entering this to these challenges: 
NBUS - new stamps and dies
Freshly Made Sketches 
A Cut Above 

Other Supplies: Hexagon Die is from WPlus9; Border Dies are from Penny Black; The Happy Birthday stamp and die are from Simon Says Stamp.

Best Birthday Wishes

 Another rainy day has come and is almost gone. Looking at the weather app, we are expected to have rain all next week, except maybe Tuesday. Thank goodness I have a stamp corner and lots of creative supplies to explore and play with! 

Today's card is for another dear granddaughter. Four of our grands have spring birthdays! Our only grandson has a winter birthday. And happy news! A new baby will arrive towards the end of October. Pause here for a BIG smile. 

Well, about the card.

You know I love a sketch, so here I am playing with another inspiring layout from The Paper Players. This sketch really called for patterned papers, and the Simple Stories Fun Times Paper Pad was just what I wanted.  

The ribbon image, "The Best" was cut from the DSP and placed on a die cut circle (PTI). Embossing the white panel with Birthday Sentiments EF (SSS) continues the theme. The sentiment is also from SSS, the Birthday Blitz stamps and dies. 

Happily, I had some tiny gold stars to add for a bit of bling. 

I'm adding this to the challenges at Just Us Girls (mood Board - inspired by the colors and geometric shapes)
and Love Those Pretty Papers.  

Wishing you a great night! I can't tell you how much it means that you stop by to say hello. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Stenciled Blooms

 Earlier this week I hoped to add to the gallery at  Freshly Made as they have a lovely, simple sketch. The week has been busy but a rainy Saturday gave me time to create. I was happy to be hunkered down at the craft table this afternoon!

I brought out one of my favorite sets lately, Butterflies in Bloom (Pinkfresh Studio). These flower stencils have large open spaces making it easy to vary the intensity of the inking for a shading effect. 

I chose Altenew inks in soft Blush and added a pale yellow to the flower centers and a faint hint added to a couple of the blossoms on the outer edges.  I am challenging myself to learn to use a lighter hand when I stencil. It's a work in progress! 

Adding ink to white card stock, I created a background using mint green inks. For the leaves, I blended a yellow green with a blue-green. A gold pen supplied the butterfly body and the dotted flower centers. 

Mustering all my momentary restraint - I did not add any embellishments. Aren't you proud of me? I'm thinking the simplicity of the sketch is just enough. The bling will come out another day. 

Here's a look at the sketch! 

I enjoyed the time to stamp just for fun today. I need to do it more often!  I'm happy you came by for a visit too. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft!

             Make something beautiful!  

Other supplies: Frame is from The Greetery; Sentiment is from Altenew 

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!  

Santa is in the house!

 I've had a line up of Christmas cards for you, but for today's post Santa is making his first appearance. I found this die in my stash - don't remember who made it, but it came out to play. Or, I guess I should say, HE came out to play!

Again, I found a sketch and it prompted me to search for just the right elements. Much thanks to Freshly Made Sketches for the inspiration. 

I added a few shadows to his beard with markers, a bit of glitter for the hat and nose, and snowflakes embossed on the background. The sentiment and stitched circle die are from The Greetery. 

It's strange to me to post on Saturday night, but I need to get this in the gallery at Freshly Made. Thanks so very much for your visit! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Under the Tree

 Hello and welcome to my blog on this cold, rainy day. A perfect kind of Monday to get creative with some new wintry die cuts to make a card for the sketch at The Paper Players. For winter and Christmas I seem to have acquired three new packs of DSP so I set out to use some for a snowy scene. 

I love to make snow men IRL but rarely have the chance since I'm living in SC. Making a die cut snowman brings fond memories of childhood play. Aren't all snow men just a little bit wonky? This one sure is. 

The new-to-me supplies are the papers from Doodlebug Design 6x6 Snow Much Fun pack; Snowcapped Tree Die from Waffle Flower, and Festive Snow Globe Dies from Concord & 9th. The sentiment is from a favorite from PB -  the Jolly Snippets set. 

Simple embellishment details come from Glossy accents added to the carrot and the hat, an iridescent white cord bow, and Stickles added to the snowflakes.

Here's the lovely sketch providing inspiration by the Paper Players.

 Also adding this to NBUS and the Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

Thanks so much for coming by, hope it's been a great day for you!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

ETA: what makes this snowman wonky? Well, the googly eyes for one thing. Secondly, the die doesn't include arms for this guy! So that he fits in the snow globe, I'm guessing. 

Sunshine and Love

Hi! It's a Friday evening heralding a long weekend for those in the US. The sun's begun to set I think I have time to write this quick post while our supper soup simmers. I love having the cooler weather. 

I'm sharing another card today using SSS supplies from the Birthday Blitz kit. Have a look! 

This time I've used the stamp set and dies that come with the kit, as well as the Birthday Sentiments Embossing Folder. I love the deep impression this folder makes and I had the idea to cut it twice in two colors for my background after pondering what to use for Judy's sketch at Freshly Made. 

I added three tiny sequins to the heart. They add just the right sparkle! You know I need some bling!

I think this makes a birthday card that could be for anyone! 

That's all for now~

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I will be adding this to these challenges:
NBUS. The stamp dies and EF are all never been used Schtuff. 

Sweets with Birthday Blitz

 It's a new month and I pulled out a brand new box of goodies to play with!  The Birthday Blitz kit (SSS) appealed so much to me with bright colorful papers which contain printed tags and cute sayings. I mixed it up with other products so today's card uses only the papers from the kit. Did I say colorful? 

The star patterned paper makes a busy background and the paper I used for the cupcake liner repeats the star element. I cut the sentiment also out from one of the papers. The die cut additions are from Spellbinders Etched Birthday Wreath Add-Ons which I'm also sharing for the first time here. I colored the icing with markers and added shimmer to make it sparkle. And of course there are sequins! 

Bet you can guess that I'm sharing with these challenges today:
NBUS - never been used supplies
The Paper Players have a sketch. 

Double D asks for- "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."  It does not have to be Halloween related. 

Simon Says Stamp Card Kit Gallery The kit is sold out but many elements are available separately.  

I look forward to seeing you soon! For those who've been following me, we've finally arranged a space for me to stamp in our new home so I no longer have to haul things out to the living area. LOVE using the new space! Will work next on streamlining the photo process. 

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I love that you come to visit me, and I wish you a great day. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

A Little Perk

 Hi card makers! I love card challenges so much for the inspiration and incentive they give me to get crafty. Yesterday after seeing the sketch at The Paper Players, I got busy. Here you go! 

I'm setting aside a few older stamps to play with in coming days and had pulled out Cup of Kindness from Concord & 9th and a new paper pad from Penny Black. I really love the versatility of this set. It has great sentiments too! The card process is pretty self explanatory. Just die cuts with a little stamping. I spent more time getting a photo of this card than I did making it. Isn't that refreshing? 

Thanks for coming by. It means so much to me to have you visit. Hope your day is great!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 

The Paper Players 

Little Red Wagon  Make It Sew - I used a stitched rectangle panel
Love Those Pretty Papers

Floral Festivites

Hello there, how are my crafty friends on this chilly Monday? Monday is my catch up day and it's been a good day so far. Over the weekend I got some time to watercolor and I made my very first Christmas card for the year! 

I've invested in some Penny Black supplies that I can pull out and do a little watercoloring or dabbling with the card parts in spare moments. My first completion used the Floral Festivities stamp, inked on watercolor paper and colored in with Distress Ink re-inkers. My colors for pink and red ( Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick) came on a bit too strong, but I went with it anyway, fussy cutting the image. I used the circle dies to cut Concrd & 9th Grapefruit card stock, and a white circle that had been embossed with the PB folder called Variegated and colored with Distress ink to match the focal point. 

I'm just in time to enter this to play in these challenges:
NBUS as the stamps and EF are new
Penny Black Saturday Challenge and Freshly Made Sketches. 

Also: The Holly and the Ivy Christmas Challenge  this one is new to me, first time linking!) and Peace on Earth Christmas. 

Thanks so much for your visit today! I appreciate every one. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 
               Make something beautiful!  

Autumn Blessings for Freshly Made Sketches

 Hello. thanks for joining me at my blog. Today I'm excited to be guest designing at one of my favorite card challenges. Thank you to the team at Freshly Made Sketches for inviting me!

I have a fall card for you today. Have you been jumping in to all the best fall things now that it is official? I couldn't resist pulling out some of my fav stamps from the Autumn Blessings set by WPlus9 designs. 

I went for a soft look today by using Cold Press watercolor paper and stamping in a soft brown ink. Using Distress Inks and re-inkers, I watercolored the sunflower wreath, adding Glossy Accents to the berries. Sponged the banner with pale ink to match the flowers. 

The stamps and dies form a gorgeous wreath. I did take the liberty of cutting that up and arranging the florals to fit the sketch. FIrst thinking of using a basket under the banner, I decided it just needed a twine bow. 

I hope that you will enjoy seeing the samples from the terrific DT and take a crafty break so that you can play along! See you next time. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

YOU Bring me Joy

 I hope you're doing well and surviving the heat wave. I'm cooling off again in the craft room before heading off to a barbecue this afternoon with friends. It will be 95!  

I haven't really been into rainbows, but I saw the idea of a rainbow made like gingham, so I gave it a try! I used a stencil from CCC and various inks to create a panel on white card stock.  The inks are  a bit more saturated than I would like, the small cubes were juicy! The small cubes were easiest to work with. 

I loved this bear and used an oval die to cut him out after coloring with Zigs. Penny Black stamps has inspired me to buy quite a few of their dies and sentiments that go together, and you will be seeing more of them! 

I realized as I was posting that this is close to the sketch at Freshly Made, so I am joining the challenge! I'm also playing at Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge. 

Hope you have a wonderful day and some joy coming your way. Thanks so very much for your visit! 

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!

Christmas Blessings for the Paper Players

 Sunday has come around again, and I'm happy to welcome you to my blog. Laurie has a great sketch for us at The Paper Players #619 and I can't wait to share my card with you. 

I love sketch challenges and holidays are my favorite time for card making. Now that for the US our Thanksgiving Day has passed, let's get down to some serious  creating for Christmas!

I bought a new multi-level embossing folder from Sissix called Winter Pattern, and ran it through my Big Shot using Baked Brown Sugar card stock. I carefully daubed white craft ink just along the top of the images and love the depth it created to the overall pattern. 

Here's a closer look that allows you to see the three levels of embossing.

My sentiments and dies are from The Greetery, the JOY sparkles in the red mirror card stock. 

I sure hope you'll want to play along at The Paper Players! We love it when you do! 

I will also add this to two other challenges: at Peace on Earth Christmas they have a mood board.

 For the Tic Tac Toe Challenge I chose the top row across.  Holiday, Die, Embellishment. I hop

I hope this inspires you to be crafty. Have a wonderful week!

 Be yourself
     Have delight in your craft
         Make something beautiful!  

It's Time for a Sketch! So Sweet!

 Hello friends! It's Sunday, time for a Sketch Challenge from Jaydee at The Paper Players #610! I have found that when we're away the mice come out to play and they made their happy appearance on today's card. 

I may have taken a bit of liberty with the sketch. It seems there are quite a few variations possible. I used a pale gray rectangle behind the die cuts so the three sweet mice wouldn't seem to be flying along the top of my card.

The mice were colored with Copics very simply. I used a second sentiment on the bottom of the banner. I love when sentiments combine that way. 

How will you choose to create with this sketch? I sure hope you will find time to play along! Have a wonderful week. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The stamps are Anita Jeram~ So Sweet Slimline by Colorado Crafts Company