Floral Delight

 If the jonquils and birds I see out my window are telling it, spring is here in my backyard! A perfect time to bring out the pretty Floral Delight papers from Stampin' Up! I love yellow and these papers are so bright and happy. My card is simple today, featuring the pretty gingham and blooms. 

I fussy cut the blossom from the paper, added foam tape for dimension and tied it with a twine bow.  I've been inspired by these challenges today and it feels good to play!

Little Red Wagon - something tiny. (See those adorable tiny gold bees? They are part of the Floral Delight collection.) 
Seize the Birthday - No stamping (optional)
Love Those Pretty Papers
Inspired By - use gingham

Hope your day is sunny and bright. Sending you off with smiles...

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

A Classic

 Hello, I'm glad you're here to visit again! If you visit often, you already know that I love card challenges. One I find easy to join is NBUS - Never Been Used Schtuff, but there's a new kid on the block; The Neglected Stuff Challenge. I have lots of both kinds of stuff.  

I was inspired to pull out two of my very first wood block stamp sets purchased from Stampin' Up! for today's card. 

I find that I'm still pleased to see these lovely, timeless images from my first year (2011) as a demo. Stamping the text background was much easier to line up using my Misty. How things have changed in the stamping world!

Simply using just stamps paper and ink felt good! Oh, and two stitched rectangle dies. I think the stamp set was called Natural Beauty. It's a keeper! It is one of the handful of wood block stamps that remain in my stash.

Check out the challenge HERE and give it a try! The goal either way is to use the stuff that we have, right? 

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Wildflower Birthday Card #2

 I hope you're doing well today. How's your crafting going? 

With our recent move, I'm totally having to re-think my crafting process as my supplies are limited and in one small closet. It goes something like this - I bring out the cutter and cut card stock. Put that away after use, and haul the Empress machine to the dining room table. Then come the dies or embossing folders. After those are put away,  some color medium and general supplies for assembling take over the table.

Can you imagine I'm getting a few steps in as I go back and forth from room to room? When the card is complete, it all goes back in the closet until next time. Of course, there are similar steps needed for the photography too!

I know, I know, it's not so bad. Not everybody has a craft room/space! One way I can streamline is to make several cards with the same supplies. So, here is card #2 using the Wildflower Birthday collection from Stampin' Up! 

Oh, how I love these pretty papers! This birthday greeting is for the dear grand who loves pink! All images are from the papers and ephemera. I stamped and embossed the sentiment from the set with gold powder. The clear gems adhered to the cake don't sparkle for the camera, but IRL they shine.

Wherever your steps take you today, I hope you can go with a smile. Sending hugs your way!  

PS. My dear man and I actually love our smaller home and simpler lifestyle. Less time is spent cleaning, lol!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

Wildflower Birthday

Hello friends, it's a new week, welcome to my blog today! One of my favorite things about this hobby of card making that we love, is that you can create what you feel in the mood for and change out colors or techniques according to your whim. 

Lately I've been doing simple cards with clean watercolored images, but you know what? I've been missing playing with paper. So I got my fill of flowers and pretty papers with this card. 

Recently I  was smitten with a couple floral suites from Stampin' Up! This card was created with papers from the Wildflower Birthday Collection. Such pretty pastel peach and blues. I began by embossing white card stock with the Baroque folder from Anna Griffin, and used a die to scallop the bottom edge. The striped tag is part of the DSP, I cut it out and trimmed out the polka dotted blue strip to add vertically.

 The flowers and leaves on the tag are part of the images on the papers that can be punched out. The other panel was cut with a stitched die cut from the set. The lovely loose weave trim is so fun to work with and dressed things up. A sentiment from The Greetery and a few metallic gold pearls were  included for the final touch. That's it for me today, thanks for keeping on til the end of this post. Hope you have a great day!

I'll be linking up with NBUS - Never Been Used Stuff as the papers and die are new; and the lovely ladies at A Cut Above.

With Sympathy for Color Hues

 Greetings to you on this day! We have a new challenge at Color Hues where Hannelie has chosen Yellow and Kraft for our creations for the next two weeks. I needed a sympathy card,  deciding that these colors are soothing and just right for this season too. 

I began with a white card base, and added a kraft panel. Stampin' Up! provided the lovely stamped images, die cuts, and sentiment. I've had this set for a long time but this is my first time using it. Now I won't wait so long until next time! 

We hope you will join us and add your projects to our gallery. We can't wait to see what you will make! Thanks so much for your visit! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Find Beauty for The Paper Players

 Good morning on this Sunday Sunday September 11.  I hope everything is going well with you today! I am so glad you're here to join in for The Paper Players Challenge #608. Joanne has a wonderful group of colors to choose from for your projects! 

I pulled out some of my Stampin' Up! card stock and made my decision to feature dies and flowers using the MFT stamps Flower Bouquet Dynamics. 

These can be arranged in so many ways and I love that they have some cuts that allow the individual blooms to flex for some dimension. 

I used Old Olive, Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss, and Daffodil Delight card stocks. The basket (from The Greetery) is lined with a soft Petal Pink pattern from Stampin' Up!'s Textured Chic Specialty Designer Paper. The crosshatch die (Stampin' Up! Chic Dies)  is one of my favorites to provide a textured backdrop. The sentiment was stamped using Blackberry Bliss Ink. I love the contrast this color gives! It's a nice alternative to black.

That's it for me today, I hope that you will be inspired to play along!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Season of Chic Part 2

 Hello again! 

Just a very quick post and a very simple card today. It does show how versatile the Season of Chic stamps and dies are as this card features the wash of color stamps and flower dies. 

Stamping in bright Altenew inks suggest a flower bouquet. I love these flower dies, how they have a whimsical texture all their own with just the outline of the flower. 

This thank you card came together in about 15 minutes! 

Hope you week is going well. I so appreciate your kind comments and visits this week! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Luminous Seashells

 Hi there! I really couldn't figure out how to title this post since it technically doesn't use my featured stamp set of the week. It is simply the Seashells 3d Embossing Folder, all dressed up! 

The lovely Distressed Gold Designer Paper was die cut with the Season of Chic die and added for texture and bright interest.

As well, some inks were sponged to accent the shells, and a pale luminous glaze was added on some of the greenery. Small dots of aqua  were dotted across the top of the design. 

The entire panel is Very Vanilla card stock, layered on a Soft Suede base. I sponged  around the perimeter with Distress Oxide ink. Purposefully leaving off the sentiment allows me to choose one or not, when sending it. I think I really like it best this way! 

Have a wonderful day! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Three for One: Season of Chic from Stampin' Up!

 Oh, I can hardly believe that June is almost over, can you? June is my birthday month, and our dear new little grand made her entrance to the world last weekend! What a delight and such a happy time! God in His goodness helped me get better (even though vaxxed I had a rough stint with COVID)  just in time for my husband and I to help with the older children. You can bet I'm still smiling! 

I really enjoyed being able to focus on one stamp set last week, and you seemed to like it too! Three cards coming up this week using the Season of Chic stamps and dies from Stampin' Up! If you missed it, you can find my first card made with it HERE. 

My second card is a clean and elegant thank you. 

I began by embossing white card stock with the Seashells 3D embossing folder. I love the clean texture this gives! Using the die that looks like a grid, I cut that out of the embossed piece for even more texture. The shell on the left was die cut directly from the patterned paper, it was a perfect fit! The pink shell was die cut from the pink/gold paper and I stamped it to add the shell detail. 

Every once in awhile this happens - I was positively thrilled with how this turned out!

Thanks so much for popping in! I've loved having you visit. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The Paper Players #592 A Sketch with Season of Chic

 Hello friends! Every once in a while a collection of products come by that seem to be just for you. I have long loved gathering sea shells at the beach and marveling at their natural beauty.  My home is filled with the collections! When I saw the Texture Chic Suite Collection  (Stampin' Up!) I knew it was for me!  With an assortment of seasonal images in a sketchy style with dies and shimmering papers, I envision beautiful creations throughout the year.  

Just in time for LeAnne's fabulous  sketch challenge at The Paper Players, here's my first card made with the brand new goodies. 

I layered two of the specialty papers onto a white card stock panel. I love the airy washes of color and gold foil accents in these. For the shells, I did layered stamping with Distress Oxide inks in Spun Sugar, Wild Honey and Broken China. The tiny shell is from the Seashells 3D embossing folder, snipped out and lightly sponged with ink.

They are assembled over a die cut piece of the Distressed Gold Specialty paper. I love this glimmer! A sweet sentiment stamped in Bermuda Bay and a scattering of elegant jewels (Buttercream by PPP) complete my project.

I hope you will head on over to see the gorgeous DT samples and join us for the sketch. I'd love to see what you make! You will also find this entry at the delightful NBUS Challenge (never-been-used-stuff.)

 Thanks so much for your visit today, hope you're able to find some time to get crafty! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Inspired By 195 White Christmas

 Hello again, and welcome! We are loving seeing your amazing cards in the gallery! Ready for a White Christmas Challenge at Inspired By? Believe it or not, I took the longest time figuring out where to go with this theme as there are so many options and the photo is delightful. 

I ended up going with a snowy night sky, taking all my inspiration from a lovely card Kristina showed at the Holiday Workshop 2021 at Online Card Classes.  Culling a few snowflake stamps from various sets, I made a background and did some inking to add depth of color around the edges. Keeping this simple to make and easy to mail were important. 

The Stampin' Up! Snowflake Wishes stamps and dies came to live with me last year, but I am just getting around to using them! With a snowy embossed background, a white heat embossed sentiment, a few rhinestones were the only embellishments. 

Joining in the fun at NBUS - never been used schtuff. 

I know you will find great inspiration at the blog, have fun with this challenge! Thanks so much for your kind comments. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Color Hues #29 Orange and Brown

Good morning! It's a new day for a challenge from Color Hues and you won't believe the gorgeous inspiration our team has for you this month. We're using brown and orange, perfect hues whichever way this takes you - fall, leaves, critters, thanksgiving, florals - lots of options! 

Here is what I came up with. Remember, kraft can be used as a neutral. I began with bold pops of color using stitched frames (PTI). 

The leaf dies from Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons created the orange leaves and gold foil outline for the focal point. I wrapped the kraft panel with a bit of twine after stamping the sentiment and embossing it in white.  

 Can't wait to see your creations! Hope you will play along. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Harvest Meadow Meets Succulents

 How are you doing today, friends? Well, I hope! We've been enjoying gorgeous sunshine the last few days and it's still warm and pleasant outside. I love this Indian summer weather!

I know you came for a card, and I have been playing in the craft room too. The lovely sketch at The Paper Players has been on my mind, so here's the card I made using it. 

I fell in love with the Harvest Meadow DSP from Stampin' Up! and was trying to come up with a way to use the gorgeous pattern in pale neutrals. Inspiration comes from the strangest places. I have a friend who decorates beautifully. Her whole guest bath is done with pale kraft, gray, and white and sketchy botanical artwork. The only color in there was a bold pop of deep green from a tall succulent. I was brave enough to try to pair these images and patterns versus keeping it safe with matchy colors. What do you think? 

Using sponges to ink the pot image, I combined colors to give an ombre look. The only embellishment is the clear gloss addition to the plant pot, and added dimension to the die cut sentiment, which brings a pop of white. I think I like it!

Our friend loves succulents too, so this will be a thank you for having us to dinner. Hope she likes it! 

Thank you Paper Players for a great sketch!

I appreciate you so much for joining me here for a little bit. Be back tomorrow!

Be yourself.

     Find delight in your craft.

          Make something beautiful! 

Supplies used: 

Stamps: The Greetery - Pot-Pourri, stamps and dies

Accessories - WPlus9 - Welcome Dies

CAS Watercolor

Good morning, happy Friday! I saw so many gorgeous samples from the CAS designers and players at the CAS Watercolor challenge that I just had to play along. 

On a very hot humid afternoon, pulling out my Zig markers to color a bit was a delight to my senses and my soul. Added a sparkle with WOS.

The challenge was to use a floral bouquet. 

I cut slits on either side of the stems to tie silver thread around the bouquet.

That wraps it up for me today. Have a great weekend! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

CAS Watercolor 

Supplies used:

Stamps: Blessed Easter (ret) - Stampin Up!; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthday Stamp Set; PTI - Vintage Type Set

Paper: Bristol Smooth, WPlus9 Dove Grey

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, Versamark

Accessories: The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Basics die, PTI - Mix and Mat Pinked Edge Die,  white embossing powder silver thread

Celebrate In Style

Hello everyone! 
I've been so caught up in Christmas preparations and events. Have really missed my crafting and regular posts. It's a busy time of year but I'm delighted to be able to stamp today as the featured guest stamper at CAS(E) this Sketch! I'm so honored to stamp again with this talented team of designers. 

I need a card to be on hand for a January guy birthday and I wanted to create a classy style. Choosing bold neutrals with gold gave me a great head start on a card that could also double as a New Year's greeting.

I'm way out of my comfort zone with two grays and black but they do look really good with lots of white and gold accents. 

Here's the sketch. 

You can find the challenge HERE and it will be in play for two weeks. Hope you will check out the wonderful projects and make your own to join in the fun! 

Thanks for your visit. Hope you have many good things to celebrate today.   

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: none

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Basic Gray and Basic Black, WPlus9 - Fog, Gold Foil paper

Accessories: Sissix - Celebrate die, SU - Starblast Edgelit Die (retired) 

Welcome to What I love: Waterfront

Hello crafty friends, happy Wednesday!  Today is the day I share on the theme of what I love. I live near a beautiful lake and I love being near or on the water every day, so it's no surprise that the Waterfront set from Stampin' Up! made it to my craft desk. I am loving it!

Creating water or mountain scenes with this set will be a breeze. I made two cards to get me started on a few cards for men's birthdays that I'll be needing next month.  I can't believe June is almost here! I have a birthday of my own coming up. 

 I began by lightly sponging a background for each of the cards using Distress Oxide Inks in Antique Linen and Broken China, and sprinkling on a few fine dots of water. Stamping the scene for the first card involved lots of layers to make the row of mountains and trees and a bit of additional sponging with greens

 to fill in the blank spots.

For the second card, I kept the stamping much simpler and placed the scene inside an oval frame with a die cut window. 

This set is still on my craft table so I think you'll be seeing it again soon with the beach-y version! 

I hope good things and good times are on their way to you today. Thanks for visiting!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Perfect Poinsettia

Getting a quick post in today, hello!

I've been waiting for a perfectly elegant poinsettia stamp, and I'm using the Gina K Perfect Poinsettia layering stamp set to make today's card. Layering the images couldn't be easier and the result is rich and realistic looking. 

Playing around with color choices, I settled on SU inks in Strawberry Slush, Rose Red and Cherry Cobbler for the flower. 

I found it amazing how the bloom looked like Real Red when completed, although I didn't use that color to stamp it.  I decided that Real Red card stock and ink for the sentiment color matched the best when it was all complete. For the leaves I used  Wild Wasabi and Cucumber Crush, stamped off once for the middle layer and full strength for the last stamping. 

I added Nuvo drops in gold to the flower center, silver sequins and silver Glimmer paper for elegance. 

I'm playing with the Card Concept Rich Holiday challenge and was inspired by the poinsettias and shining crystal of the glassware for my Classic and Elegant style card. So great to be adding several styles to my holiday cards stash.  

The sun is shining again today and the weather is turning chilly. Instead of boating this weekend, my husband and I will be dancing! Great way to keep warm, don't you think?

He will look quite handsome in his tux!
Your visit today is so appreciated. See you next week! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

              Make something beautiful!

ETA: Giving a shout out of special thanks to the talented team at The Card Concept. They work hard to bring us a beautiful challenge. Happy surprise for me - I was picked for an Honorable Mention for the last challenge! You can see the winners HERE.