AHSC562 My Heart Is With You

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Wow, the last day of January, time flies!  My card today features the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge sketch:

along with some papers from Close to My Heart that I've had for a while but haven't even opened!  So I remedied that today!  Here we go:

I love the vintage French feel of these prints...I layered one of the papers on a Crumb Cake base, and before layering it, I stamped a few images from the retired French Foliage and Butterfly Basics:

I added a couple of embossed hearts from the Adoring Hearts embossing folder, some Boho Blue twine, and a sentiment from another retired set called Small Sayings. It's hard to see, but there's a wee little strip of Champagne foil paper that gives the elements a little pizzazz!  On the inside, another retired sentiment from Holiday Best:

This was actually my second attempt at this card; the first one I was not as pleased with; it went on a Very Vanilla base, but I didn't really like the stamped elements as much.  

I did like the sentiment; it was a sticker from the same set of papers:

Those twirly elements behind the sentiments are always problematic for me, I can never get them quite right! But I now have two more Valentines for my stash!  

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

We love because God first loved us.  I John 4:19

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Butterfly Basics, Small Sayings, French Foliage, Perfectly Wrapped (all retired)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Basic White, Very Vnailla, Champage Foil (ret), Cosette (Close to My Heart)
Ink	Versafine Black, Crumb Cake, Moody Mauve
Accessories	Boho Blue Twine, Dimensionals, Rose Metallic Thread (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Adoring Hearts Hybrid Embossing Folder & Die, Perennial Postage Dies, Sponge Dauber, Banner Dies (Pink & Main)

PP611 Sending a Prayer

Hello, stampers, happy Sunday.  My heart is going out to those in Florida as well as along the coastline; my sister lives near Charleston, so we were praying for everyone!  And I have a prayerful card to share today for Joanne's Paper Players challenge, as well:

Autumn is such a beautiful time of the year here in the US, especially when the leaves are turning colors and the air is crisp!  I pulled out my favorite leafy stamp, French Foliage, and some inks, a spritzer of water and went to work:

It's tough to need sympathy cards, but they're a fact of life, unfortunately!  I set up my stamps in the Stamparatus, then spritzed them with some water before stamping them on a piece of Very Vanilla to give them a weathered look.  

I added a panel from a piece of Recollections paper pad on which I stamped the French script, and a sentiment and diecut from Papertrey in Lost Lagoon:

The inside was stamped with a sentiment from Hero Arts, and I stamped the oak leaf again in Versamark for a soft, subtle look.  Everything went on a Soft Sky card base and I added a pretty piece of Lost Lagoon riibon as well.

My sketch and color palette came from the Fusion Card Challenge for this week:

I just know that you'll come up with some amazing autumn projects...and it doesn't have to be leaves!  Think cornstalks, wheat, harvest, etc!  Can't wait to see what you come up with, and for more inspiration, check out the Paper Players blog to see what the designers did!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	French Foliage (ret), Sanded (ret),  Inspired:Prayer (Papertrey), CL342 Sentiments Hero Arts)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon (ret), Thankful Heart DSP (Recollections)
Ink	Cajun Craze, Poppy Parade, Pale Papaya, Pear Pizzazz, Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand, Lost Lagoon (ret)
Accessories	Dimensionals, Lost Lagoon Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Stylish Shapes Dies, Prayer Die (Papertrey), Aquapainter, Stamparatus

TCC173 Shabby Chic

Hi there, stampers!  Today I have a card for the new Card Concept challenge, and the challenge gave me a chance to do a shabby-chic card! They're just about my favorite style to make but they do take me a wee bit longer, so I don't make them as often as I would like to!  Anyway, here's Julie's prompt:

Aren't those pillows gorgeous?  I am a pillow nut, I have tons on my couch, but then we have to take them off when we all want to sit on it, LOL!  Anyway, I pulled out a couple of old SU sets, Freehand Florals from W+9, and some Prima Farm Sweet Farm papers to create my shabby chic/vintage card for this week:

I started with the sketch from Sunday Stamps:

 

then layered on some of the papers to a Sahara Sand base.  I stamped the birdcage from Nature Walk in Stazon Black, then added a few more elements from the same set to the background; the flower in Blushing Bride, the "number" in Sahara Sand, and I also stamped from script from French Foliage:

The flowers are from W+9, stamped in Blushing Bride and Merry Merlot along with Sahara Sand foliage.  The sentiment, heat embossed in white, is from Our Daily Bread Design Mini Tag Sentiments.  I diecut the circle and the banner with the new Stylish Shapes dies that will be coming out next month!  Love them!  Finally, I diecut a little wren from Sahara Sand and added a little color and shading to him so he could perch just below the bird cage.  I also added some Black & White gingham ribbon for fun!

I didn't stamp anything on the inside; I will leave it blank until I know for what occasion I'll be using it!  Now, I hope this gorgeous sets of pillows will whet your stamping appetite to come play with us.  Just be sure to tell us your stamping "style" (you can see all the styles on the Card Concept's blog); we can't wait to see what you create!  Thanks for visiting today!

A little arcade game action!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me.  I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." Isaiah 46:9-10

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Nature Walk (ret), French Foliage (ret), Mini Tag Sentiments (Our Daily Bread Designs), Free Hand Florals (W+9)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Farm Sweet Farm DSP (Prima)
Ink	Stazon Black, Sahara Sand, Blushing Bride, Craft White
Accessories	Black & White Gingham Ribbon, White Embossing Powder
Tools	Big Shot, Circle Dies (ret), Stylish Shapes Dies, Birds & Blooms Dies (ret), Free Hand Floral Dies (W+9)

RRCB157 Vintage Sketch

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It's time for a new RetroRubber challenge, where we encourage you to use your older stamps!  We have a sketch for you today:

What a great sketch...lots of layers to play with!  As I was trying to "clean" my craft room, I remembered I hadn't played with these two sets from 2010 and 2011:  French Foliage and Nature Walk.  I also haven't done a vintage-style card for a while, so here we go:

I started with some vintage ephemera background papers, probably from My Mind's Eye, but they were in my scrap bin, so I don't know the maker for sure; I stamped images on a Naturals White panel in Stazon Black, Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand, and lightly stenciled a pattern over them:

I added some "splatters", a couple of honeycomb diecuts in silver glimmer paper and a tattered organdy rose, which also had some glitter adhered to it.  I stamped the bird once on the panel and again on a scrap, then watercolored and fussy-cut him out:

The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings; I did a bit of sponging as well to add to the shabby, vintage look.  It felt good to use all these sweet images and I always love a vintage-styled creation!  

I hope you'll play along with our RetroRubber sketch this week; just remember to use stamps at least a year old, and tell us the approximate age!  Thanks for popping in today!  

Three fun-lovin' girls!!!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Greetings, Nature Walk (2011, ret), French Foliage (2010 ret), Gorgeous Grunge (2013, ret), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (2006, ret)
Card stock & Papers	Naturals White (ret), Misc DSPs, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink	Stazon Black, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Accessories	Dimensionals, Organdy Rose (ret), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Detailed Bee Dies (ret), Sponge Daubers, Aquapainter, Basic Pattern Decorative Mask, Blending Brushes

TCC153 Lovely Lavender

 Happy Wednesday, stampers!  There's a new Card Concept Challenge up today, look at this beauty:

Isn't that gorgeous?  It gave me a chance to use my brand-new, coming-in-the-new-catalog stamp set Hand-Penned Petals!  I made a mini-slimline card in the Clean and Layered style; the size is 6"x 3 1/2":

I stamped the florals in Memento Black and filled them in with Mint Macaron and Highland Heather.  The stamped background is the script from (old) French Foliage in Smoky Slate; the beautiful DSP is part of the Hand-Penned suite, and it is GORGEOUS.  You will definitely be seeing a lot more of this!  Plus I diecut it with the new Basic Borders dies...they are amazing!  I added a few little Genial Gems in Mint Macaron and a gingham bow:

And I almost forgot....I freehand cut some Brushed Silver cardstock into a bucket shape, then embossed it with an embossing folder and added some Craft White and Basic Gray shading!  I used the remaining piece of diecut DSP to embellish the inside:

I am also entering this at the TGIF challenge, where they are looking for slimline cards!

I hope you'll play along with our pretty inspiration this week...be sure to stop by the Card Concept blog to see how the other designers interpreted this photo, then share yours with us too!  Be sure to tell us your "style"...you can see all the styles listed on the challenge blog!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hand-Penned Petals (coming soon), French Foliage (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Hand-Penned DSP (coming soon), Brushed Silver (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Highland Heather, Mint Macaron, Craft White and Basic Gray (for sponging)
Accessories	Dimensionals, Genial Gems (coming soon), Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Penned Flowers Dies (coming soon), Basic Borders Dies (coming soon), Woodgrain EF (ret), Sponge Daubers

PP512 Colors by Ann

Hello, stampers!  Ann is our Paper Players hostess this week with a lovely fall palette: 

I knew I wanted to create something with some fall leaves, and since I've been happily perusing my older stamps lately, I pulled out French Foliage...one of my favorites...along with French Script, and went to work:

I started with a Naturals White square card base, added a layer of Cajun Craze and a layer of Cinnamon Cider, stamped with the French Script stamp and shaded with a sponge.  The skeleton leaf panel is a new one to me; it's from Sweet n Sassy and I sponged several colors on it before inking it up.  Finally, I stamped the leaves in Mossy Meadow, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry, fussy-cutting them out and layering them in the corner.  The sentiment was also fussy-cut and popped up, and I added some enamel dots for embellishment:

The sketch I used is from Inkspire Me:

And since it's a large square card, I also made my own envelope using some retired DSP and the retired Envelope Punch Board!  I hope you'll play along with our pretty fall colors this week!  Be sure to check out what the Design Team has created with them as well...you'll find them all at the Paper Players!  Thanks for popping in today!

Here's a lone little leaf I found on one of my walks:

The leaves are finally beginning to turn!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"Rich and poor have this in common; The Lord is the Maker of them all."  Proverbs 22:2

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Life is Beautiful, French Foliage (ret), French Script Background (ret), Skeleton Leaf (Sweet n Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Naturals White (ret), Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider
Ink	Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider, Crushed Curry
Accessories	Enamel Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Sponges

TCC132 Vintage Sympathy

Happy April, peeps!  I was happy to turn that calendar page from March, how about you?  Hopefully brighter days ahead!  It's time for another Card Concept challenge:

In the midst of the corona virus stuff, a sweet lady at my church lost her sister (not virus-related).  I thought the photo inspiration above had some nice elements to create a Shabby/Vintage montage sympathy card:

I pulled some vintage-style papers from my plethora of 6x6 pads, and did some collage-style stamping with a few oldie but goodie stamps!  I also had a piece of inked/embossed Crumb Cake cardstock that I cut in pieces so I could use the Sketch Saturday sketch:

I stamped some elements from Nature's Walk and French Foliage on my background papers, and stamped the bird on a separate piece and fussy-cut it out.  Everything was sponged and distressed, then I added a faux button, some linen thread and a wee little bit of lace. I finished it off with a couple of metallic gold pearls:

The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings, die cut with a banner die.  I hope my friend likes it! 

Be sure to pop over to The Card Concept blog to see how the other designers were inspired!  You've got two weeks to play, so we can't wait to see what you create!  Just be sure to tell us what "style" you're using!  Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Getting in some reading!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Greetings, Nature Walk, French Foliage (both ret)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz,  French Flea Market DSP (Photo Play), Oliver Lost & Found DSP (My Mind's Eye)
Ink	Crumb Cake, Balmy Blue, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
Accessories	Crochet Trim, Gold Metallic Pearls, Old Olive Linen Thread, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Coastal Weave Embossing Folder, Blue Gel Pen, Sponges, Button Die (ret), Acrylic Ruler (to distress edges), Banner Dies (Nestabilities)

Stamp Ink Paper 80 - Get Well Bird

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  I am thrilled that I've been asked to be on the Stamp Ink Paper DT on a permanent basis!  Today's challenge is cardmaker's choice!  

Honestly, this was more difficult than I imagined, because I have SO MANY favorites!!  My favorite on  any given day might change with the season, my mood or the holiday!  Anyway, I decided in the end on this sweet bird from Red Lead, along with some other images I randomly stamped on some pretty Pool Party-hued paper from Fancy Pants:

It wasn't hard to choose my favorite color, and I love birds, and I love collage stamping, and I love shabby ribbon, so the rest was easy!  There are feathers, eggs, lace and postmarks, all stamped in various shades.....the eggs (Nature Walk) were colored with some ink and a blender pen, cut out and popped up:

I added a tag, also lightly stamped with a honeycomb design:

and the inside sentiment was stamped over the egg image as well!  I never have enough get well cards, so this is beginning my stash!  I'll have the supply list at the bottom!

Just thought I would share a photo from the weekend get-together with John's family!  Here are some amazing women that I am blessed to have in my family:

Me, John's sister Mimi, John's sister-in-law Colleen, and John's stepmother, Trish!  Mimi is a great hostess and we had a wonderful brunch together.  And here are a few of the guys...they seem to be deep in discussion, probably solving the world's problems:

John's BIL Charlie, his stepfather Bob, John, and Dana's boyfriend Wayne!  I think the girls were having more fun than the guys, though, LOL!

Enjoy your day and thanks for popping in!

Project Details
Stamps	Nature Walk, French Foliage, (both retired SU), Butterfly Basics, Delicate Details (new SAB), Trendy Feathers (Stamplorations), Bird (Red Lead), Hero Arts CL342 (Inside sentiment), Our Daily Bread Designs Mini Tag Sentiments (Tag sentiment)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Basic Gray, Park Bench (Fancy Pants)
Ink	Basic Black, Basic Gray, Pool Party, Soft Sky
Accessories	Hand-dyed shabby seam binding, black & white baker's twine
Tools	Big Shot, old Cuttlebug tag die, dimensionals, sponges