SUO330 Zany Square Birthday

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Hope your week is going well so far!  I have a card that's a wee bit different; the challenge at SUO (Stampin Up Only) is "It's Hip to be Square"...they want to see a square on your card!

I am not quite sure why I decided to make the card base of my card black, unless I was thinking that I was going to use the black & white side of the Zoo Crew DSP, but I changed my mind about the patterns, but stayed with the black!  So here we go:

To create my card, I took a piece of Basic Black cardstock 8 1/2 x 4 1/4", folded it in half, then ran it through my Big Shot with the largest Radiating Stitches die; obviously, I left the folded edge intact so that just the sides were exposed to the die.  Although it was a double layer, the die still cut through pretty well...I only had to trim it with scissors in a tiny spot.  So my card wasn't quite square, but it left me with enough room to add a square mat and some of the fun figures from the Zoo Crew papers:

The matching ribbon fit perfectly in the little space above the figures, and I used a one-hole bow technique so the ribbon wouldn't slide around.  I stamped some confetti and a sentiment before adhering it to a Parakeet Party mat; then on the inside, added some more confetti and a sentiment from Charming Sentiments:

Embossing both front and back of the card made it a little wonky; it was an experiment and I may try it again with thicker cardstock!  But it will make a fun card for someone's birthday!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Zany Zoo, Charming Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black, Basic White, Parakeet Party, Zoo Crew
Ink	Parakeet Party, Flirty Flamingo
Accessories	Ribbon Duo Combo Pack, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Radiating Stitches Dies, 1/8" Hole Punch (ret)

Sending Hugs

Happy Thursday, peeps!  If you're down in the southeastern portion of the US, we're praying for you!  We have been getting a lot of wind here in PA, but nothing compared to what's happening there!

A sweet lady from church is recovering from a fall and subsequent hip surgery, so I thought I'd send a get well message using the sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches as well as the monochromatic challenge from SUO Challenges:

 

I chose neutrals as my color scheme...I was thinking that maybe as a get-well, I should have used something brighter and more cheery, but I had already begun and hopefully she'll like it regardless!  So here we go:

I used Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand cardstocks, and Sahara Sand ink for the foliage, which is from Forever Fern and Eden's Garden.  The sentiment was stamped in Soft Suede:

I tied a little Linen Thread bow to my foliage for an extra embellishment.  Here's the inside, and I added another extra diecut as well:

Thanks for popping in today!

Wayne is on a business trip in Washington state, checking out the apples!  He must be getting a bird's-eye view as he snagged a helicopter ride!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Eden's Garden, Forever Fern
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand
Ink	Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Accessories	Linen Thread, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stylish Shapes Dies, Layering Circles Dies, Forever Flourishing Dies, Tasteful Textile EF

CAS in Blue

Happy Monday, peeps!  I gave my blue-hued ink pads a workout yesterday, as I needed two sympathy cards and I found a couple of CAS challenges that fit their bill.  The first uses another one of the masks (stencils) that I've been playing with lately; this time I used the butterfly one:

After stenciling in Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight and Pacific Point, I added a sentiment from Eden's Garden and some speckles from Color and Contour:

I added a blue rhinestone and mounted everything on a Balmy Blue base.  It fits the bill for the SUO CAS challenge as well as the Krafty Secrets CAS challenge!

My second card uses a Hero Arts stamp that I normally think of as a Christmas image, but I thought it would work well for a wintery sympathy card:

The image was stamped in Misty Moonlight, as was the sentiment from Special Moments:

I popped up the panel on dimensionals and it's ready to go.  It fits the Double D challenge for this week of blue and white winter:

I used the upper left photo as my inspiration!  Thanks to Diane, I am also entering it at Colorful Options  challenge:

Thanks so much for popping in today!  

My pancake-making helper!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips." Proverbs22:17-18

First Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Eden's Garden, Color and Contour
Card stock & Papers	Balmy Blue, Basic White
Ink	Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight, Pacific Point
Accessories	Pretty Peacock Rhinestones (ret)
Tools	Blending Brushes, Butterflies and Flowers Decorative Masks

Second Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Special Moments, Winter Trees (Hero Arts)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White
Ink	Misty Moonlight
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools

CAS Twinchie Poinsettia

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  Halfway through the week!  There are lots of Christmas challenges out there, so I am throwing my hat in the ring for a few of them!  SUO wants Christmas in July; CAS Christmas wants a poinsettia; and AAA Cards wants a "twinchie" with the option of Christmas! 

So here we go:

I began by diecutting a mini poinsettia from Poppy Parade cardstock using the smallest Poinsettia dies.  I gave it a bit of shading with some Real Red ink, offsetting two layers together.  The Garden Green leaves are from the same die, and I used some gold Glimmer paper from a past Holiday mini catalog a few years back for the center.  It went on a panel of Basic White that I ran diagonally through the retired Basketweave embossing folder:  

The "twinchie" can't be any bigger than 2", with nothing over the edge, so when I stamped my sentiment from the retired Seasonal Chums set, I cut it out with a Tasteful Labels die, then ran it through again to shorten it so it would fit within the 2" requirement.  I used the same Glimmer paper to create a scalloped frame to finish it off.  It all went on a plain Basic White card front!  Another for my Christmas card stash, and my Christmas club girls just might see this one some time because I really like how it came out!  Thanks for popping in today!

Yesterday at dusk I came home from a meeting and the sun was SO RED in the hazy sky, I just had to stop and take a picture.  It's not very clear, but hopefully you can get the picture!  My nephew told me it was reflecting the fires on the west coast!!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Seasonal Chums (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Garden Green, Poppy Parade, Gold Glimmer Paper (ret)
Ink	Garden Green, Real Red
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Tasteful Labels Dies, Poinsettia Dies, Layering Squares Dies (ret), Stitched Shapes Dies (Ret), Basketweave Embossing Folder (ret), 1/4" Circle Punch, Sponge Daubers

Florals for Fun

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's the last day of March, and the last day of Sale-a-bration!  Did you take advantage of it?  You've got a little time left!  

I have a couple of floral creations today, and they each have a very different feel to them!  This one uses an older Artistic Outpost image that has never seen ink!  As I was suffering from insomnia the other night, I thought of it--surely I'm not the only one who does that, right?  Anyway, I was perusing my 6x6 stash and found this Night of Navy gingham (yes, more gingham, Michele!) and thought how pretty the tulips would look with it...kind of like Delft!  So here we go with my very CAS blue tulips:

This uses the sketch from the Global Design Project:

I stamped my image in Night of Navy, and I did something I rarely do:  I watercolored!  It's not that I don't watercolor often, but when you watercolor with water-based ink outlines, you run the risk of making your image bleed!  I was very, very careful and used an almost dry brush to add Blueberry Bushel and Seaside Spray inks to fill in my design:

I used the Stitched Shapes die to cut it out, and I used the Stitched Nested Labels die to create a banner; I used the "negative" portion for the fishtail, and used the straight die on the edges!  A sentiment from Honey Bee finished it off.  Simple!

My next card is for the SUO Challenge to CASE something from page 42 of the catalog, as well as the Time Out Challenge to use purple!   

Purples are not usual my go-to colors, so I sort of forgot about poor Purple Posy...and it's such a pretty pastel shade!  I chose to copy the bottom sketch of the SUO challenge, using a Purple Posy card base and some pretty floral paper from Best Dressed:

On another Stitched Nested Label diecut, I added a butterfly from Positive Thoughts in Pineapple Punch, a sentiment from Fable Friends in Mint Macaron, and I stamped the flower from Positive Thoughts in Highland Heather (stamped off twice) right on top of the sentiment.  Some Iridescent sequins (that reflect in really weird colors, LOL) added a little sparkly touch.  Some Nature's Twine, tied in a bow, coordinated with the greenery in the DSP:

I forgot to photograph the inside...I stamped the friendship sentiment from So Sentimental, so this definitely qualifies for the "friendship" part of the challenge as well!  

Dana told me that Cassidy cooked herself a cheese steak!  Yum!  I think Ginger is thinking she should be able to have a sample, too! But I don't see anything green on that plate!! Tsk, tsk!   

Dana, Cassidy and I actually got to video chat yesterday!  Technology is pretty great...we had a couple little hiccups at first, but I think we've got it now!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your social distancing and be blessed!

Card 1 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Honey Bee, A Lovely Day (Artistic Outpost)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Night of Navy, Night of Navy Gingham DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Blueberry Bushel, Seaside Spray
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Nested Labels Dies

Card 2 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Positive Thoughts, So Sentimental (inside)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Purple Posy, Best Dressed DSP
Ink	Mint Macaron, Pineapple Punch, Highland Heather
Accessories	Nature's Twine, Iridescent Sequins
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Nature's Thoughts Dies

Vintage Nature Walk

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  We survived the big storm...it wasn't really much of a blizzard, a few inches of snow and lots of sleet!  Gave me some time to spend in my craft room, though!  I created a vintage sort of card, one I haven't done for a while, and it incorporated three challenges:

The Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration sketch challenge, the Retro Rubber challenge and the SU Only Challenge of Things That Fly!

I pulled out one of my favorite stamp sets, Nature Walk (January 2011) and paired it with Tiny Tags (January 2010) for my vintage creation today:

I don't remember the name of this DSP, but I am pretty sure it came out around the same time as Nature Walk; I added some additional "flying" things, stamped directly on to the DSP with Marina Mist ink, in the form of bees and butterflies:

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I stamped the bird with Versamark and Marina Mist ink, then heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder so I could watercolor him a wee bit with Marina Mist ink.  I did some diecutting to mount him on a stitched circle and scalloped square, then added my embellishments:  leaves, paper button, little tag, burlap, lace and stitched ribbon trims!

Remember this button die?  It's one old die I will never part with!  I cut out the button three times and adhered them together, then stamped it with the woodgrain image from Timeless Textures...it really looks like wood!  I did the same thing with the Flourishes leaves:

I left in the inside blank; I could use this as a get well or a birthday card, or just about anything!  Love this little bird!

We went out sledding yesterday but the wind was pretty wicked and raw, so we didn't stay out too long, but we got in a few good rides! Cass & Dana almost ran into a tree, but it was still fun! At least we got a chance to use the new sled I just bought to replace the one I broke last time I went sledding, LOL!

Enjoy your day!

Project Details--All Products Stampin Up Unless Otherwise Noted
Stamps	Nature Walk, Tiny Tags, Timeless Textures
Card stock & Papers	Naturals White, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, DSP (ret)
Ink	Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Accessories	Burlap Ribbon, Stitched Marina Mist Ribbon (ret), Crochet Trim (ret), Linen Thread
Tools	Big Shot, Button Die (ret), Flourish Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Layering Squares Dies, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Tiny Tag Punch

FMS268 and SUO164 Happy 60th Birthday

Happy Thursday, peeps!  It's winding down to the big day and I probably won't be posting too many things until after the holiday, but I did want to squeeze in a card I made for an upcoming family birthday.  I used the theme from SUO Challenges, which is to use circles, ovals or squares on my card, and since the FMS sketch was square, I thought it would work well:

 

Amy O'Neill used some pretty Project Life cards on her card (you can see it here), and I thought that would be a great idea for mine as well, since I just got this Hello Lovely set, and I just love these colors:

Both panels are from the PL set; the numbers were cut with the Large Numbers die in Crisp Cantaloupe, and the sentiment is from Cheer All Year, stamped in Tip Top Taupe.  I embossed the Soft Sky base with the Perfect Polkadots embossing folder, then added a few sequins from the November Paper Pumpkin kit.  

Thanks for visiting today!

We were all sitting around the table after dinner a couple nights ago and Cassidy got a little piece of paper and a Sharpie (her favorite writing utensil) and wrote a little note and stuck it in her Advent box.  Dana questioned her about it and she told her she was writing the elves a note:

"Dear elfs, I'm getting tired of getting stickers.  But I like you still!"  Dana and I just cracked up!  She gets stickers, an occasional piece of candy and sometimes a little toy.  But apparently she is not too happy with the stickers!!!  Ralph the elf wrote her a note back and apologized:

 and the next day, she got a big ornament full of bubble bath:

Really, I don't think she's ungrateful; the look is because she had no CLUE what it was!!!  Now she can't wait to have her bath so she can bubble up!  But we did remind her that the Advent gifts are small; she'll get bigger gifts on Christmas!  But we might have created a monster!  Maybe next year we'll just do one of those little calendars with the tiny little windows that open up!

Have a blessed day!