IB363 Here Comes Santa

 Happy Friday, peeps!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned! I have a sweet little Christmas card for you today; it happens to fit the Inspired By prompt this week!  Here's Laurel's inspiration:

I was inspired by the country colors as well as that wee, tiny little Santa hat that's on one of the napkin rings, LOL!  Here we go:

I started with a Mellow Moss card base, then added some pretty wreath-printed paper and a Crumb Cake banner.  I pulled out one of the stencils that I got last year and stenciled the Santa hat in Real Red and Craft White, and added a frayed burlap ribbon tie.  You can't see it, but I added some Wink of Stella to his hat as well!

A sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Tiny Words Christmas fit on the banner perfectly!

Thanks so much for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Mellow Moss (ret), Santa Claus Lane (Echo Park)
Ink	Real Red, Mossy Meadow, Craft White
Accessories	Burlap Twine (ret), Christmas Stencils (Amazon), Wink of Stella
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Nested Essentials Dies, Blending Brushes

IB358 Modern Leaves

Happy Tuesday, all!  Wow, fall has fallen here in SE PA! The wind is blowin' and the leaves are goin'--right off the trees!  My card today features leaves, but in a bit of a mod way, taking a hint from the Inspired By challenge this week!  I used both the inspiration and the sketch:

 

I didn't have quite the exact colors of the inspiration photo, but I pulled out some that were similar, as well as a stamp & die set from The Stamp Market.  Here we go:

I diecut some strips from Basic Gray, Basic White, Basic  Beige, Cherry Cobbler and Blushing Bride, then diecut and stamped some leave as well.  I also diecut some leafy branches from the Dainty Delight dies as well as punched out a few 1/2" circles and arranged them all together:

Sentiments from Everyday Greetings went on the front and the inside, along with another stamped leaf:

This is defintely out of my comfort zone, style-wise, but I like the modern look to it!  

The kids went to Minnesota this past weekend with some of Wayne's family to watch the Vikings/Eagles game!  The Eagles won and I think they all had a great time!

That stadium is amazing!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Everyday Greetings (ret), Lots of Leaves (The Stamp Market)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Basic Beige, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride (ret)
Ink	Basic Beige, Cherry Cobbler, Versafine Black, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Dimensionals, Candy Dots (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Dainty Designs Dies (ret), Lots of Leaves Dies (The Stamp Market), Easy Strips Dies (Taylored Expressions), 1/2" Circle Punch (ret)

Straight Up

 Hi there! I am squeaking in a Father's Day card today; it uses the inspiration photo from Inspired By as well as the sketch from Sketch Saturday:

I pulled out some old papers from Authentique along with a Unity stamp and here's what I came up with:

I stamped the image in Black Stazon and watercolored it, then added a sentiment from the same set, along with some adhesive metallic brads; the sentiment was diecut with the Stitched Shapes dies and Layering Ovals dies:

Gone Fishing provided the inside sentiment and I added a little scrap of the printed paper too!

I have peeps coming to stamp tonight, so that's it for now!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Gone Fishing (ret), If You Were Whiskey (Unity)
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Basic White, Original Collection (Authentique)
Ink	Night of Navy, Stazon Black, Crushed Curry, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Adhesive Brads, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Layering Ovals Dies (ret), Aquapainter

IB335 Happy Spring

 Happy Friday, peeps! It is quite damp and dreary today in SE PA, but we always need the rain! My card today is one I almost didn't share....it isn't quite up to my standards but I decided to show it anyway to prove that no matter how experienced a stamper you are, sometimes things just don't come out the way you expect!  

I have been playing with the Notes & Totes bundle and as much as I love it, I am struggling with it...I think it's bigger than I envisioned!  Anyway, the Inspired By challenge this week inspired me to try to use the tote die; here's the photo:

So off I went to create:

I won't go into all the details about what I don't like about this card, but I will say that the pretty flowers  from You Are Remarkable, stamped in Soft Seafoam ink,  just got lost.  I should have stamped them in something darker....so maybe I'll try them again!  

I tried an old technique for the tote itself; I stamped the retired Knit Together stamp using Versamark ink and dabbed on some pastels with a cotton ball....remember them?  It turned out darker than I wanted, sadly.  I couldn't even stamp the inside correctly...it was crooked and had a halo, so I had to trim my stamp, restamp and diecut a piece to cover it up:

 

At least I managed the background okay, using a piece of Country Woods DSP!  Well, you can't win them all!  Thanks so much for bearing with me here today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Year of Flowers, Choose Happy, Knit Together (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic Beige, Crumb Cake, Soft Seafom DSP (ret), Country Woods DSP
Ink	Versamark, Soft Seafoam, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Dimensionals, Pastels (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Notes & Totes Dies, Textured Notes Dies

Happy Winter Birthday

Happy Friday, peeps! I don't know about anyone else, but I am struggling to get back into my regular routine after the holidays! I know it's only a couple of days, but I feel jet-lagged, LOL!  I did manage to get into my craft room yesterday to make a wintery birthday card!  It uses the inspiration from Inspired By and the sketch from FMS:

So here we go:

I embossed a panel of Boho Blue with the retired Cable Knit embossing folder, and diecut a snowflake with the retired Stitched Snowflake die.  The snowflake was mounted on a Sentimental Christmas DSP circle as well as a Crumb Cake scallop.  I admit, I did go a little overboard with the gems and sequins, LOL!  The sentiment is from Choose Happy, on a Stylish Shapes die:

The inside sentiment is from Unbounded Love:

I am also entering this at JUGS, where they are looking for dies!  

Now to make three more cards---January is a busy birthday month for my family!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Unbounded Love, Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers	Boho Blue, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Sentimental Christmas (ret)
Ink	Boho Blue
Accessories	Iridescent Gems, Sequins (Honey Bee)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Stitched Snowflake Dies (ret), Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Layering Circles Dies (ret), Cable Knit EF (ret)

SOS536 Best Wishes Brother

Happy Thursday, peeps! My brother's birthday is coming up and the Shopping Our Stash challenge is asking for a winter themed card but not Christmas!  I used some plaid Christmas papers from Echo Park's The Magic of Christmas, along with a deer diecut and a Birch Wood-embossed piece of woodgrain paper for his birthday card:

My sentiment was a combination of an older Paper Pumpkin "Best Wishes" and a Fiskars "brother"; the pine cones and greenery were from W+9's Merry & Bright.  The deer diecut is from Paper Rose; finally I added some black adhesive brads to add a little zip!

Edited to add:  I am also going to enter this at the Inspired By challenge for this week as well:

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paper Pumpkin (ret), Celebrate Family (Fiskars), Merry & Bright (WPlusNine)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Basic Black, The Magic of Christmas (Echo Park)
Ink	Versafine Black, Early Espresso, Pecan Pie, Shaded Spruce
Accessories	Dimensionals, Adhesive Brads (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Birch Wood Embossing Folder, Merry & Bright Dies (WPlusNine), Deer Family Dies (Paper Rose)

Vintage Stockings

Hello, stamping friends! Happy Friday!  This will be quick as we are having our family Thanksgiving tomorrow and I am making creamed mushrooms!  Did you know the area of PA in which I live is the mushroom capital of the world?  I am sure you didn't!  Anyway, we don't eat them regularly but we do like them for the holidays! Okay, enough about mushrooms! I have a CAS Christmas card today, it fulfills the CAS Colour & Sketches sketch as well as the Inspired By challenge of these cute stockings:

I knew just the stamp I wanted to use for this card....the October Kit of the Month from Unity had some adorable stockings!  Here we go:

This was super fun and easy! I stamped the stockings on Crumb Cake cardstock in Misty Moonlight ink and fussy-cut them out, then sponged them with Pecan Pie ink for a vintage look.  The sentiment is from Greetings of the Season (my new favorite), stamped in Night of Navy on some Country Woods DSP:

For some extra interest, I embossed just the lower portion of the card with the Distressed Tile embossing folder, I really like how it adds a vintage feel!  I also added a Crumb Cake star that I enhanced with a gold Wink of Stella pen, as well as some Natural Tones Linen Thread in Night of Navy too.  More Greetings of the Season on the inside:

I haven't counted yet, but I am getting close to the number of Christmas cards I need to send out this year!  How about you?  Have you started your cards yet....the holidays will be here before we know it!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Greetings of the Season, Sweet Bliss of Christmas (Unity KOTM)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Crumb Cake, Country Woods DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Dimensionals, Naturals Linen Thread, Gold Wink of Stella (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Distressed Tile Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Star Punch (ret)

An Apple A Day

Happy Friday, peeps!  I am stamping with the sweet ladies at a local retirement community today, so this will be quick!  I have a sort-of slimline card to share; it uses the sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments as well as the apple theme from Inspired By!  They're celebrating their 300th challenge, woohoo!

There's a sweet little apple image in the new Choose Happy set, and that's what I used! Here we go:

Pretty straightforward---the apple was stamped with Memento Black ink and watercolored in.  I diecut eachone with a Spotlight on Nature circle die and backed it with some retired Brushed Silver cardstock to mimic the buckets in the challenge photo.  I mounted it on a piece of retired Pear Pizzazz which was embossed with the Cane Weave embossing folder and matted with a piece of Early Espresso:

A little sentiment from the same set, stamped in Real Red, and it's done!  This could be for almost any occasion, so I left the inside blank!  

A house on the street that we walk on to get to the beach has a metal signpost outside, and people randomly began putting magnets on it....it's a riot, although some of them are a bit risque!

These are my two favorites!!!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz (ret), Brushed Silver (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Real Red, Pecan Pie, Garden Green
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Cane Weave Embossing Folder, Aquapainter

Inspired By Seashells #297

Happy Tuesday, peeps! This heat wave is really affecting my mojo....I think it just melted away!   I couldn't come up with anything amazingly original, so another beach-themed card is on deck today; this one uses a wee bit of inspiration from Inspired By's prompt:

I just got the Seaside Wishes, so I couldn't wait to put it to use, along with an older background stamp.  Here we go:

I used the Pretty in Pink starfish as my starting point and decided to keep the pink hues rather than the bright ones in the photo.  I stamped and embossed the sand dollar with Flirty Flamingo ink, and the coral (what IS that thing, anyway?) was diecut from Calypso Coral.  It was too dark for my liking, so I sponged some white ink on it to tone it down...much better!

To bring in a little blue, I stamped the cheesecloth image in Balmy Blue on Basic Beige, and added a sentiment from the same set. 

 My final additions were some "sand"stamped around the edges and some pink sequins!  I can't wait to play with this some more!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Seaside Wishes, Cheesecloth (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Basic Beige, Calypso Coral
Ink	Balmy Blue, Pretty in Pink, Flirty Flamingo, Craft White, Basic Beige
Accessories	Dimensionals, Sequins from my stash
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machinke Seaside Wishes Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Sponge Dauber

IB292 Surfin Summer

Happy Saturday, everyone! Hope you have something fun planned this weekend!  I loved the inspiration photo at Inspired By this week:

Laurel always comes up with the most fun ideas!  I don't have any oars in my vast array of stamps, but I do have some surfboards:

To achieve a weathered look, I stamped the surfboards from Pretty Pink Posh on some white woodgrain-printed paper, then loosely watercolored them, adding some shading of Smoky Slate here and there.  I stamped and diecut a sentiment from the same set, then mounted everything on a panel of Lost Lagoon that was embossed with the Pinewood Plank embossing folder.  Before embossing, I swiped a Craft White ink pad on the raised inside portion of the EF and I love the effect it created!

The Many Mates set was on my desk, so I stamped it on the inside, along with a little solid oval and some more surfboards:

I love this summery vibe!

On Thursday, I went to the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community where Dana works (in billing, not nursing) and had a fun little stamp class for eight of the residents!  My friend and downline Sheilah went to help me and we all fun!

These ladies took to stamping like a duck to water...and I'll be back there in July to have some more fun!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Many Mates (ret), Summer Surfboards (Pretty Pink Posh), Stitched Shapes (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Lost Lagoon, Heart & Home DSP (ret)
Ink	Craft White, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Blueberry Bushel, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Candy Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Pinewood Plank Embossing Folder (ret), Aquapainter, Sponge Dauber, Banner Dies (Nellie Snellen)