Random Cards

Happy Saturday, peeps! Hope all is going well for you this weekend!  I have a couple cards to share for random challenges!! The first one is for the Inspire.Create challenge:

Aren't these colors pretty? My Paper Players teammate Debbie made this card recently and it inspired me to do something similar with these colors.  So here we go:

I used the sketch from Fusion:

and papers from the True Love DSP line.  I fussy-cut a flower from one of the patterns and watercolored it with the three challenge colors, then adhered it to a layer of Thick White cardstock and fussy-cut it out:

The vertical banners were cut from snips of Sand & Sea DSP, and the sentiment, embossed in white on Basic Black cardstock, is from Bloom & Grow and diecut with the little banner die from Smooth Sailing.  I did color in some random flowers on the background with some Sahara Sand ink, but they are pretty subtle!  

The next card is a masculine one, using the mallard duck from Field Journal and a sentiment from Rustic Retreat:

It uses the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

My card base is Crumb Cake with layers of woodgrain In Good Taste DSP; I stamped Mr Mallard in Stazon ink, watercolored him and fussy-cut him out:

I did the same for the little wooden sign, adding some sponging on the edge for a vintage look:

I am also entering this at Watercooler Wednesday, where they are looking for masculine cards!

And I'll leave you with these pix of silly Eden....she's probably wishing she could go outside and play in the early morning snowfall:

but the next best thing is taking a nap....with her legs stuck straight out!  Who sleeps like that?  Silly pup!

Thanks for visiting today!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge too!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

One Sketch, Two Cards

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  WOW---the sun came out in Pennsylvania yesterday---I didn't quite know how to act! It's been MIA for several days, and it was so nice to see it!  Anyhoo, I did get a little time in my craft room yesterday...I loved the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

loved it so much, I made two cards!  The first one uses the colors from Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I am always scrambling for male birthday cards, and I thought these colors were pretty good for a guy..the Blackberry is just dark enough to not be too feminine!  I pulled out Sailing Home and some various DSPs and went to work:

Everything is pretty straightforward; I stamped the lighthouse in Night of Navy and diecut it, then added some seagulls and a sun on the Stitched Nested Label panel:

I added some diecuts from the Set Sail die set as well; the wheel and the rope were diecut and added strategically!  The sentiment from Rustic Retreat was diecut with the Stitched Rectangle die:

My second card uses the same layout, but I chose to make a Christmas card to fulfill the Christmas Kickstart challenge of Festive Florals:

I've been making several cards using the Poinsettia Petals set, so I made another, this time using some Winter Wonderland papers from Simple Stories:

I stamped two layers of the smallest poinsettia on some Naturals White cardstock, which is now retired, in Baja Breeze ink and diecut them out.  I wanted to "shabby" them up a bit since the background papers are a bit muted in color, so I sponged them with some Soft Sky ink and added some "lines" from Gorgeous Grunge in Sahara Sand to imitate the background paper.  I added some Champagne foil berries:

and a sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas, stamped in Calypso Cora and diecut with a Tasteful Labels die:

And since I stamped the inside sentiment crooked, I stamped another poinsettia over it to draw the recipient's eye away from my error, LOL!

And just in case you're wondering what size the panels are;  the top left panel is 3 1/8" x 2 3/8"; the panel below it is 7/8" x 2 3/8"; the right panel is 1 1/2" x 4"; and the bottom panel is 1 1/4" x 4".  

Cassidy had a busy Saturday last week; before going to the Harvest Party, she helped clean out flower beds!

I'm pretty sure she slept very well that night!  Thanks so much for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

 

TGIF268 Field Journal Birthday

Happy Saturday, peeps!  My card today features a new stamp called Field Journal.  I loved the sketchy style of the artwork, I think the images are easy to color in and can stand alone on a card, which makes them great for masculine creations!  Our guys don't like a lot of fuss and layers, right?  And it is also for the TGIF Challenge, which is to have a trimmed-down front panel:

So here we go; these kinds of cards are a challenge to photograph, so I apologize for the poor picture:

I used two different DSPs in Cinnamon Cider, tearing my edges to give it a more rustic look; stamped the chipmunk in Stazon Black and watercolored him with the same ink, then diecut it with a Stitched Nested Label die:

I stamped a sentiment from Rustic Retreat on the outside and added some new Early Espresso Faux Suede ribbon, then added a sentiment from Many Mates on the inside:

This is already in the mail for a guy from church; it was a fun card to create!  Thanks for popping in today!

Our rickety old swing set (it started out as John's nephews' some 25 years ago!) got a good workout on Thursday....first Cassidy and her cousins just put the hose on it and slid down, then I suggested they get the plastic sheets we use for slip and slide and put underneath the slide.  What a riot! They have to have bruises on their bums, and my yard is a muddy mess, but they had a blast!

TCC131 Woodland Creatures

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  It's time for a new Card Concept challenge, and Julie has a sweet inspiration for us this week:

Aren't those little critters cute?  I knew just what set I wanted to use, so I pulled out some paper, ink and stamps and went to work creating my Clean and Layered card:

I cut a "tree" from some woodgrain paper and diecut three stitched circles in it; behind each one I placed my little animals; each one was stamped in Memento ink, colored with Blends and fussy cut:

For my little bird, I used the SU Well Wishes die, outlined him with a Basic Black SU marker, then colored him in as well; it's hard to see but I used Pool Party and Balmy Blue:

I created a little sign with this serendipitous find from Rustic Retreat; it was stamped in Early Espresso and colored with a Copic to match the tree; I also added some diecut grass!

Finally, on the inside, I stamped a birthday greeting from the same set and added a little deer I had also colored and fussy-cut:

I am also entering this into the Cardz 4 Guyz challenge, which is to use something starting with "F"....forest and fawn!

The DT has come up with some wonderful samples to give you some inspiration, so be sure to stop by the Card Concept and check them out!  Then you can share yours with us as well! 

Cassidy brought home a dot-to-dot from school....it has 951 dots!  Can you believe it?

An astronaut?  A deep-sea diver?  She didn't finish it yet, hopefully she's going to keep at it...she has two weeks away from school, we'll see how she does!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!  

"There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.The one who fears is not made perfect in love/"  1 John 4:18

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Rustic Retreat, Woodland Greetings (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Nestled DSP (Authentique)
Ink	Memento Black, Early Espresso
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Circle Dies (Lil'Inker), Blends, White Gel Pen, Grass Die (Impression Obsession)

Card Concept 126

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I am excited to announce that I've been asked to be on the Card Concept DT!  I want to thank Julie for giving me the chance to participate! I have admired their challenges, not just because Julie chooses amazing inspiration photos, but also because they highlight different "styles" of design!  When you play along, you're asked to identify which style you've used for that particular week!  They have a page that describes all the different styles, so I am looking forward to stretching my creativity and hopefully I can nail all of them at some point!  Today, we have a lovely photo prompt to kick off the new year:

Today is my sister Joyce's birthday, and she is a beekeeper!  Actually, she has embraced many different interests in her life...she loves horses, she's raised chickens, she's bred rabbits, she is a bird nerd like me, encouraged martins but putting up a big martin house, but her latest venture is beekeeping!  So the Honey Bee stamp set was the first thing that popped into my shopping cart when it became available!  For my card today, I chose the gold and vanilla elements to create a Clean and Layered card for my sis:

I began with a Crumb Cake card base and added a Very Vanilla layer which was embossed with the Pine Planks EF with a few little diecut honeycombs on top.  My hive was stamped with Crumb Cake as well, and the flowers were heat-embossed with gold embossing powder, diecut and adhered next to the hive:

There are several bee dies in the Detailed Bee set; this big one was diecut from Gold Foil--isn't it impressive? 

I adhered it near a gold-embossed birthday sentiment (Rustic Retreat), which had been diecut from the new Stitched So Sweetly dies (and also has some gold thread behind it!):

Finally, one last embossing:  a birthday sentiment from Perennial Birthday on the inside, along with a couple more little bees!  I hope she likes it!

I hope that you'll play along with our challenge at The Card Concept, and be sure to stop by to see how all the DT members have interpreted this pretty photo!  Can't wait to see what you create!

Cassidy had off school the day before Christmas eve, so I asked Lee and Jackie to come over to make some cookies.  I had the dough already made and rolled out, so all they had to do was cut and sprinkle!

Jackie was very neat and precise in her sprinkling!

Whereas Lee was a more "one and done" kinda guy---he used a whole jar of gold sprinkles on his, LOL!

But they had fun and each went home with a wee little plate of yummies!

Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Honey Bee, Rustic Retreat
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil
Ink	Crumb Cake, Gold Encore (ret)
Accessories	Gold Thread, Dimensionals, Gold Embossing Powder
Tools	Big Shot, Pine Planks EF, Detailed Bees Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Heat Tool